Failings & Fearlings
by Jetafray Angel
Summary: Things never remain normal for long in the life of Danny Phantom. However, being kidnapped into another universe is out of Phantom's normal. And that's saying something. Well, as they say, "Just when you think you're safe, you end up in more danger than you have ever been before." Let's just say…there's more to this than what meets the eye. Cover made by me!
1. Black Sand

**Um…hi. **

**DON'T KILL ME! I have very, very good reasons for not updating my other stories. I won't give them to you here, because that will make this chapter over 5,000 words long, but if you PM me I will rant on. And on. **

**So yeah. **

**Anyway, to the matter of this…I was bored, felt like writing something a tad dark after reading a bit of fictions for RotG, and this idea came to mind. Tad dark. I may bring it up to a T rating, if the readers think it gets too dark, gory, or I want to add in some swear words. Just a warning. **

**Hehehe…Anyway, enjoy…If you dare…**

* * *

Danny Fenton, the normal teenage boy any would expect, was walking down the halls casually. Well, if you consider the fact that his hands were flying, his hair was going crazy, and that he wasn't even walking, was casual, then you'd realize everything was normal. Actually, this was normal. Everyday, between fifth and sixth period, Daniel Fenton often found himself running down the halls of the school away from Dash Baxter, the bully.

Danny panted, making a sharp turn. There was a teacher, but he just ignored Danny. It was upsetting, but expected. Even as Dash walked by, all the teacher said was, "Good luck at the game tomorrow!" and closed the door. As long as you played a sport, you were safe from detentions, referrals, bullies, and were allowed to do practically anything you wanted so you could play in the next game.

All in all, it appeared as if the world had it in for Fenton. Befriending a techno-geek and gothic girl didn't help to improve his social status, it only lowered it even more.

Danny made another quick turn, almost tripping over his own feet. Dash was catching up; and fast. This time, Danny just didn't want to deal with it. He didn't want to be blamed for any school property damage, receive a detention for showing up to class late from being shoved in the locker, and didn't want to just be punched in general.

Making his decision, Danny turned, and waited for Dash. It wasn't long before the blonde turned, but he soon skidded to a halt, searching for the boy he planned on punching.

Danny sighed silently, floating a tad off the ground in his invisible form. Sometimes having ghost powers could come in handy.

That's when something weird happened.

Okay, let me rephrase that. The word weird is suggesting something supernatural. That…is different for the town of Amity Park. Like, really different. After a ghostly invasion, being transported to another dimension (how 'weird' is that?), having been assaulted by a freak weather ghost, millions of dollars in damage property done by ghost fights, and the fact that they even elected a ghostly mayor (even though they didn't really know he was ghostly), just made the word weird…normal.

So, in the Amity Park version of weird, was exactly what the next event was.

The ground rumbled once. That's all, once. Just shook once, calmly and slowly, and then it happened. It shook with an ugly thrust, sending lockers crashing to the ground, papers flying, terrified screams, and shutting off all the lights, letting darkness…slowly…seep in. It was as if the shadows were crawling along, even with the shaking.

Black sand rippled through the floors.

Danny watched in horror as Dash was practically swallowed by it, only for the sand to leave him, knocked out, with a little image of a band geek, Mikey, beating him up with an instrument.

If Danny wasn't so terrified, he might've laughed.

Desperately, Danny kept the intangible feeling and invisibility on as he flew, keeping up pace with the sand as it spread. Students in hallways dropped all their papers and fled, screaming. The sand would swallow them, release them, and play something above their heads.

Danny looked up to see where it was heading next, and saw a thing of lockers in the hallway, having fallen down. He let his hopes get up, hoping it would stop the sand.

It didn't.

It flew over it, forming into horse-like creatures that howled as they charged down the hall.

Suddenly, the ground stopped shaking.

But Danny kept flying, transforming into his alter ego as he zoomed after the sand. Various rays of green were blast at some horses, causing them to disintegrate upon impact. But the black sand would just reform into it, and the horses began to freeze in their trek.

Danny sucked in a breath as he realized they were looking for him.

Some horses continued to run, and it was after these that Danny flew after. Fear hit him strongly as he saw what two characters were in the next hallway.

Sam Manson, the pretty goth girl, was helping up Tucker, the techno-geek. There was a light trickle of blood on Tucker's face, probably from where he smashed it against something or another.

One horse stopped, as if it had sensed Danny. As if it knew he was there…and yet not.

But Danny didn't ponder it as he fired ecto-blast after ecto-blast at the horse, finally releasing his intangibility and invisibility.

"Leave them alone!" Danny cried, sending another blast of energy at one of the last three horses. It vanished, but soon reformed. It glanced at Danny, stalking forward. The glare was so tense, as if it recognized Danny.

Finally, it huffed, then turned around and charged at Danny's friends.

They screeched, giving a quick cry. Danny desperately shot at the horses, hitting only for them to creep towards his friends as sand.

Realization hit Danny as he flew towards his friends, planning on flying them to safety before they were…whatever it was that had happened to the other kids.

But something grabbed Danny's foot, pulling him back. The hand was gray and freezing, despite the ice powers Danny held.

Ice.

Danny, his vivid green eyes become a chilling ice blue, let his foot and hand become surrounded in solid ice. Ice rays shot from his hands, freezing the sand just before it touched his friends.

"Danny!" Sam cried, holding Tucker up by his armpits as she moved away from the frozen black sand.

"Run, Sam!" Danny ordered, suddenly being pulled back sharply. It was so quick that he couldn't even see the force pulling him. A low growl sounded from whoever, no, whatever was holding his ankle.

Apparently, the ice didn't do anything.

"Daaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnyyyyy!" Sam's voice rang, sounding terrified and absolutly desperate to save her friend. Or herself.

The figure pulling Danny back never gave him a chance to reply, as soon he felt the crawling prickling of something up his leg, and instantly knew it was the sand.

"No!" he yelled, struggling fircely in attempt to make it stop. He had to get away; he had to save his friends. He had to save Dash. He had to save everyone. Everyone was counting on him.

If he failed…

"Let me go!" Danny cried, unleashing a full blast of energy from his foot, and was happy to know it sent his captor flying in the direction away from him. The sand fell to the ground, and Danny made sure to hover in place above it.

Nothing moved.

The only sound in the school was Danny's scared breathing.

Slowly, he floated towards his captor. A black cloak completely cover his face and body, the only thing visible were the bony fingers, which were a sickly gray color.

Danny looked closer, trying to see the face. He was curious. He lifted his gloved hand, planning on moving the cloak so he could see who–what had attacked his school, his friends, the bullies…And the people he had to protect.

However, as soon as he touched the cloak, black sand suddenly launched at him from his, coating his hand. Whips of black sand hooked his feet, forcing him to land on the ground, face first. Danny tried phasing out, but found he couldn't.

The sand quickly crawled up his suit, but paused when it reached his neck. Danny's green eyes were filled with fear, but also sharp courage to stop whatever force it was.

"Jack Frost."

The voice was icy, terrifying, and sent chills down Danny's spine. Somehow, Danny knew it was the figure speaking, and it was to him. But his name wasn't Jack Frost.

"Fancy seeing you here, you little twit!"

The figure suddenly rose. Evil yellow eyes looked into Danny's green, filling with shock and realization. The cloak around the figure rested around, and sand (aside from the one all around Danny) began to return to the…thing. It may have stood like a human, but every thing about it was inhuman.

"Wh-who's Jack Frost?" Danny asked, letting himself be confused about the person. He felt as if he should know who it was, yet he didn't.

The figure didn't answer, only bending down to look deeper into Danny's eyes. An unstoppable well of fear filled up in them, and the thin lips on the person went into a smirk.

"Afraid?" it taunted, turning away.

Somehow, Danny just knew the question was rhetorical.

"No," Danny responded anyway.

The figure just laughed, raising a hand. The sand seemed to obey, lifting Danny off the floor in his form. He struggled, but the sand only gripped tighter, and Danny suddenly hoped it wouldn't suffocate him. Then again, it wasn't like he needed to breathe in ghost form…right?

"Who are you?" Danny demanded, his eyes glowing with venom at his captor.

"You are not in the position to ask questions," it sneered, white fangs showing darkly. Danny instantly saw a resemblance to it and Plasmius, and he wondered if it was just as powerful, too.

Danny grinned a bit, letting green energy condense in his hands as he fire sharply at the sand all around his body. To add to it, he called upon the blue rings that changed his form, letting them wash over him. He didn't change, but the sand was forced away.

He hovered, a green hand aimed at the cloaked figure. "I asked, who are you?"

The figure shot around, forcing Danny's hand out of the way. As he did so, a sharp pain filled the teen, from the nails on the figure. black sand quickly wrapped itself around the legs, hands, and even mouth of him.

A smirk crossed the creature's face. "Ever hear of the Boogie Man?"

Danny blinked, indicating that he clearly had not.

"No matter, you will be coming with me."

"Nh Iera asm ngjoet!" Danny tried to cry, struggling. Whatever the creature wanted with him couldn't be good.

"Struggling is pointless," it spat. "Besides, you won't be able to do that is you're asleep."

Danny's eyes filled with sudden fear as the sand began to crawl from his binds all over, eventually covering his head. And, unwillingly, darkness took him.

* * *

**Firstly, who else thinks Danny's ghost form looks like Jack, only the eyes as a difference (and clothes, but still)? I know I do; both of them are super hot. **

**In case you didn't notice, the figure is Pitch. **

**Feedback would be appreciated on this. I may give it up if I lose interest or just don't feel like writing. :P **

**Feel free to PM me and listen to me rant if you're curious and read my other stories and want to know why I haven't updated in more then a month. **

**Anyway, until next time! **

**~Jet**


	2. Nightmares

_It was cold outside, and the harsh winds nipped at Danny's nose as he found himself…someplace. All he knew was that it was oddly familiar, and that he felt…like something was coming. _

_He walked around, his hands in his jean pockets to keep them warm. Danny wasn't often affected by cold, but it was just…chilly to be outside in the open. Another harsh wind blew, and Danny could swear it was just wanting to turn him into a Popsicle. _

_Walking around, he located what appeared to be a park. The only thing was that everything was rusty, rickety, or destroyed. A slide was snapped in two, a couple rusty swings swung from wind, and the monkey bars looked like they would shatter upon human contact. _

_"What happened here?" he asked aloud, feeling guilty. He should've been there. Maybe, he could've helped them fix up the park, so the town wouldn't be a ghost town. _

_Ghost town. Park. _

_Danny gasped, a harsh wind pulse him walking back causing him to fall on the ground. This was…this had been Amity Park. He recognized the fountain in the distance, from where Sam wished she'd never met him (long story). There was no water dripping, and the bottom level was brown from icky water. _

_Danny instantly felt more than guilty. "I should've been here," he mumbled, walking over and leaning over the pond. It was also coated in a light lair of ice, at which shattered upon Danny's light touch. _

_"But you were here." _

_Danny swirled around, smiling with relief as he saw the familiar purple eyes. "Sam! Are you okay?" _

_Danny frowned, suddenly remembering what had happened in the school. He had…lost consciousness. After that…even waking up…it was all a blur… _

_Sam backed away frantically. "Don't touch me!" she cried, holding up her hands. "Go away, you freak!" Her eyes were filled with fear and hate, all of it directed at Danny. _

_"Sam?" Danny called, wondering if what he was seeing was true. "Why are you…?" _

_"Just go away!" she cried, reaching behind her and pulling out a ghost pistol. She aimed it at Danny, steadying her hand. "Leave now, freak! Before I make you! You've done enough damage!" _

_Danny's breath caught him. Sam…hated him? That couldn't be right. Why, he remembered…Danny had liked her. He did like her. But…He thought she liked him, too, even if he was too clueless to admit it. _

_What had he done? He vaguely recalled being kidnapped…by something…but surely he returned, right? He was there now, wasn't he? Shouldn't Sam be hugging him, glad he was safe and okay? _

_Something whizzed past Danny's ear, and he moved just in time to dodge a green bullet. _

_Sam had fired at him. _

_"Leave!" she hollered, taking a large step closer as she put her hand on the trigger again. "LEAVE!" _

_Danny took off running away, fear and guilt all up in him. Sam hated him. She wanted him gone and away. What…what was happening? _

_Danny turned, heading into a quick building. He had entered a church, and sighed slightly. The cross that usually was on the alter was broken and cracked, and cups were shattered across the floor, along with candles, chairs, and decorations. _

_Someone had been in and trashed the place. _

_"Danny?" _

_He knew that voice. Danny shot around, seeing the outside where the graveyard was. Slowly, he walked out, wondering if he could find out why he knew that voice. "Hello?" _

_"Is it really you?" _

_Danny looked down, looked up, left, and right. No one was there, and the voice sounded scared, like it needed protecting. _

_"Yes, it's me. Where are you?" _

_There was a loud crash from the distance, and out walked Valerie Gray, in her hunting suit, eyes filled with courage. _

_"Time for you to go to the hell you belong, bastard," she sneered, throwing a few discs at him. _

_Danny panicked. He was in his human form, and Valerie was attacking him. He had—she would—they always… Didn't she accept him? _

_"Valerie! Stop!" he cried, rolling to escape another blast. _

_"Stop what? A freak like you from taking over the world? Not in your dreams!" She launched a series of blasts, of which Danny luckily dodged and took off running. _

_He ran deeper into the cemetery, finally tripping and landing face first. He scurried behind a gravestone, holding his breath in hopes that he wouldn't be found. _

_That is, until his eyes fell on the gravestone. _

_Sam, Tucker, Mom, Dad, Jazz…all of them, on it, all of them, dead. _

_But…he had just seen Sam a second ago! True, she had almost killed him, but… _

_They couldn't be dead! He had worked so hard, given up everything… No. _

_Danny's breathing became sharp, and his head began to hurt drastically. _

_"You're a freak, Danny!" _

_"Mom?" Danny called, shooting up to look for the source of the voice. _

_"What makes you think we'd ever love a freak?" _

_"Tucker?" _

_"My own son has betrayed me! A little freak. Who wants a son for a freak?" _

_"Dad?" Danny's voice was weak, and his eyes began to fill up with tears. _

_"I can't believe I even dated you at one time! You're such a loser!" _

_"Valerie…?" _

_"I thought you were cool. I thought it was fun to help you, little brother. Now I just see what a freak you are! You insult me and science!" _

_"Jazz…" _

_"I can't believe you." _

_It was Sam. _

_"I had trusted you. Why did you have to become a freak? Why are you not normal? WHY ARE YOU A FREAK?" _

_Danny exploded, tears bawling out hard. They all hated him. They…no one…they had…even though he thought… _

_He wasn't accepted. _

_He was hated by the ones he loved, and everything seemed…hopeless. _

North sat in his office in the Pole, staring at the ice sculpture he had made. He knew it wasn't finished, but he couldn't quiet place where he got the inspiration to make it, all he knew was that is was lovely. All he had to do was add a tad bit of texture to one of the feathers hanging, and the ice dream catcher would be completed.

Suddenly, the door flew open, causing North to gasp as he knocked over the dream catcher. Luckily, he caught it, saving it.

The yeti that had opened the door didn't even notice as he began to spat out gibberish, sounding desperate.

North rubbed his temples. "How many times have I asked you to knock?" he stressed, but the yeti ignored him and kept rambling. Although North was having trouble catching everything he said, he caught one word. "Pitch? What's going on?"

The yeti started over.

North's eyes widened as he shot up, racing for the globe. It was all together, the lights of children blinking on and off. Even little Jamie's light blinked with it.

North expected the black sand to flow along it, but it never came. It was so quick, what happened next, that it would forever be a slight blur to everyone.

The lights shut off.

A few elves screamed in fear, utterly terrified of what was happening.

"How long has it been?"

North swirled around, hoping and not hoping o see the man who he thought was there. The only thing he saw, though, was a shadow move out if the corner of his eye.

"Eight years?"

North glared, taking out his two swords and holding then steady. "More like nine," North spat. How could he be back so soon? How did he get enough energy to…just return, even?

"Ah," Pitch replied, materializing in front of North. North held his stance, planning on slicing the Nan's head off if he took a single step closer. "Is that any way to treat a guest?"

North laughed sarcastically. "Please. This is me being merciful on you. What do you want?"

Pitch just laugh, the white fangs standing out in the dark.

"I want you Guardians to be nothing," he spat. "I want you to shrivel up and die. I want revenge more than ever before. I want everyone to fear ME!"

North launched a sword at the man's chest, but Pitch just became swallowed up by shadows. He panted as the lights flashed on the next second, light fear and a lot of shock on his face.

"I've got to summon the other Guardians."

Danny cracked open an eye, which shot open the next second. Where was he? How did he get here? What happened to Valerie? What about Sam? His family?

He sighed when he realized they were just a dream, and that they either didn't know or did love him.

But his eyes filled with realization as he realized the predicament he was in. With his arms and legs still bound, he couldn't very well move all that credibly. He could fly out, maybe, but the bands prevented him from going intangible. Did they prevent him from being invisible? Danny tried, and was happy when his entire body turned invisible, but his hope deflated when the sand didn't vanish as well.

"Come on!" Danny told himself, sending all this energy into turning the bonds intangible and invisible. He was met with no luck. He threw his head down, gritting his teeth a he tried again.

And again.

And again.

Finally, he called the blue rings to wash over him and change him into Phantom. He called a small ball of ectoplasm to light up the little prison he was in as he stood up.

To his astonishment, it wasn't even really a prison. But above him were hundreds —if not thousands of cages. He frowned, seeing the slightly dent edges and wide open doors. Apparently, something had been in everyone of them.

Anger filled Danny, knowing that whatever had him had probably caught thousands of other innocent creatures.

"Awake so soon?"

Danny shot around, stumbling backwards, and landing hard on his bum. Fear was long gone, overcome by anger and courage. It could do whatever it wanted to him, but touching others would earn it a good beating from Phantom.

"Yeah. Whatcha gonna do about it?" he challenged, his eyes lighting up the entire room from the vibrant glow.

It shrugged, the yellow eyes glaring darkly. "Nothing, really. You're a little freak, right?"

Danny's eye widened.

"The only thing you deserve is to be destroyed, but that's not something I want with you."

Danny roared, rising and running to slam himself into whatever had him captive. But it just fell into the shadows, only to rise back out when Danny passed it.

"Tisk, tisk, my boy."

"Who–What are you?" Danny demanded, turning on his heels to face the man. He was hovering over the ground, ready to fly and dodge an attack in an instant. His eyes held determination, but fear was shinning through a mask of bravado.

"Ever hear of the Boogie Man?" it asked, the white fangs becoming clear through the vile smirk.

"Sort of," Danny replied, scrunching his face. "But my parents claimed there was always a ghost. Only my friend Tucker told me about it, like, ten years ago."

It sneered in anger. "No one in that universe has feared me?"

"Newsflash, the highest fear of the world today is a ghostly invasion. Maybe a nuclear war. But seeing as some ghosts (but few) are more powerful then that…Yeah."

Danny didn't mention he was more powerful than a warhead with his ghostly wail.

"And you never answered my question," Danny persisted.

It frowned, then let a small smirk cross its face. "I am Pitch Black, bringer of nightmares. I'm also the Boogie Man, but because you lack that knowledge, let me reinforce it!" Pitch raised a hand, and four black horses charged up, ready to fight Danny, who was still in his binds. "Like them? They're my fearlings."

Danny's eyes widened in true fear as he realized what was coming next, and he was virtually powerless to stop it.

"Get him."

* * *

_**See, I will probably never update this fast again. Like, ever. But, after waking up this morning with SO many alerts on my phone, I was...Just...SO HAPPY! :D**_

_**Yay for feedback!**_

_**I forgot to mention I do not own Danny Phantom (even though he's hot), or any RotG characters. **_

_**Yep.**_

_**Chapter length will rang from 1,000-3,000 at most. I usually divide them in two. **_

_**If you find any mistakes PLEASE tell me! I typed this on my phone during school, and, well...There are bound to be lots of mistakes. And I didn't read over it to double-check. **_

_**Until next time, **_

_**~Jet**_


	3. Jack Frost, Escaping, and…Slapping?

Jack Frost was floating through the snowy forest with a smile, sliding his staff along trees and letting the designed frost make lovely pictures on all the trees. Wind blew his hair back, but the cold didn't phase him.

Cold never phased him, never had. That is, before he had died, of course.

But when the lovely lights danced in the sky, reflecting the sun's light so they shown, Jack froze. North was calling them, for some reason. And whatever it was it wasn't good.

Jack flung himself higher into the air. "Wind, take me to the North Pole!" he ordered, allowing a strong gust to fling him across the forest and over hundreds of miles in minutes.

Let's see Bunnymund do that!

He landed in front of North's home, referred to little kids as Santa's Workshop, even though the normal 'jolly ol' man' wasn't what everyone thought he was.

When he entered the main room, he noticed that all the other Guardians were present, awaiting for his arrival.

"Jack," Tooth said, flying over and giving him a small hug. A little fairy on her shoulder flew over to Jack, and he grinned, recognizing the fairy.

"Hey, Tooth, Hiya, Baby Tooth," he greeted. "What's going on?"

North informed, "He's back."

It didn't need any more describing, for they all knew who 'he' was.

"So soon, mate?" Bunny asked. "We just creamed him, what, eight years ago?"

"It was nine," North corrected.

"No, I'm pretty sure it was eight," Jack put in. Then again, years were iffy when you were hundreds of years old.

"Fine, eight. But that just means he got even more power quicker," North gave in.

Sandman had tons of little pictures over his head, of horses, Pitch, and then just a question mark to show he was just as confused.

"I know, Sandy," North stated, waving his hand to his friend. "He just vanished off the face of the Earth for years…and then returns almost at full power."

"Almost?" Tooth asked, flying up. "How weak is he?"

North shook his head. "Not very. The fearlings of his still obey him, and with everyday he grows stronger. He also acted like he had something up his sleeve…As if he had a plan before we even knew about him."

Jack frowned, remembering that the last time Pitch did have a plan. The only thing was that he hadn't counted on Jack siding with the Guardians–or even becoming one, for that matter. If he had a plan, and there were no unknown variables, it was a higher chance of him winning this time.

And they had only just barely beat him the last.

"Should we ask Man in Moon?" Bunnymund asked, looking up. The moon was full, even during the setting sun time, and was placed perfectly on the window.

North nodded, and all five of them looked up. "Man in Moon, what is your say?"

On the little pedestal, a shadow was there. Then, it rose, becoming an ice sculpture. It looked oddly like Jack, only a tad shorter. And the fact the eyes were glowing green, despite the fact they were ice.

"Well," Jack mentioned, hoping to lighten the mood a tad. "I guess we have to find my twin?"

The sculpture shook a bit more, and a name was engraved on the bottom on the sculpture.

"Danny Phantom?" Jack asked aloud. "Who the heck is Danny Phantom?"

* * *

Danny turned intangible as they attacked him, but it did nothing. He flew up and around in hopes of dodging, and did miss most attacks, but the most painful ones had hit directly. He turned invisible from time to time, but they would find him in sensing his fear.

"Who knew a mere child held so much bottle up emotion?" Pitch mentioned, grinning. "You're just full of fear, you and your entire universe."

Danny gritted his teeth, upset, no—he was pissed. He was pissed at the thing that ha kidnapped him, he was furious with being restrained, and plain old tired the man wouldn't leave him be and just let him go home!

"Let. Me. Go. Now." Danny growled, landing on the ground in front of Pitch.

Pitch held up a hand to halt the Fearlings, and glared at Danny. "Why should I?"

"You don't know who you're dealing with," Danny replied. Maybe if he could scare the king of nightmares, it was all safe and sound. Vaguely, he recalled the Fright Knight, and smirked. He didn't know if they'd hate each other or become best buds, seeing as they practically share he same power.

Well, unless Pitch was stopped by putting his sword in a pumpkin, which Danny highly doubted.

"Oh, I know all too well. Some little boy with freaky little powers."

Danny's eyes widened. He'd hear that before, from Spectra. He was trying to get him to…to…Oh, if Danny was pissed then, he was beyond furious.

"Shut up!" Danny cried, and there were green waves of energy washing off his mouth.

Pitch hadn't expected this. He watched as his Fearlings disintegrated, the binds vanishing, and he felt himself being slammed into the wall by the shear amount of power. The sound was awful, and it made his ears ring painfully.

He couldn't even register when the sound was over, and he didn't even feel it as he crashed onto the ground. Pitch didn't process his thoughts as Danny turned invisible and intangible and shot out of the lair in an instant.

It would be some time until Pitch discovered what exactly happened, and why his weapon he planned on using had escaped. And when he did, he would be more then angry.

.

Danny let the warm sunlight wash over him as he escaped the prison he had been in, completely exhausted. The wail, although not his most powerful, was still way powerful then the one he had used last Christmas.

A guilty feeling shot up through him as he realized it was probably the twentieth, which meant Christmas was coming up in just a few days. (He assumed he was only asleep for a few days, tops). He planned on being better, and not the normal grouch. He would've like to visit the ghostly party, where it was not allowed for any of his enemies to be, well, enemies. Not to mention he wanted to thank Ghostwriter.

If he wasn't home for Christmas, what could he do on that day? Sleep in a park?

A new thought hit hard. What about his friends? Had Sam and Tucker made it through, and were worrying about him? We're they okay, or did the sand…did it get them, too? And, if they were safe, were they looking for him? Did they make a big scene in order to find him?

How were the ghosts? Was there any massive invasions on Amity? Was the Box Ghost wrecking havoc? What about 'Mayor' Plasmius?

His parents…they must be worried sick about him! Not to mention Jasmine. She's be having a fit, most likely. His mom probably thought a ghost kidnapped him (which wasn't far from the truth), and his dad was probably planning to attack all the ghosts in the Zone in order to find him.

Danny frowned, landing in a small park. As soon as he hit the ground the rings washed over him, transferring him into his human self. He was just lucky no one was around to see it.

"Why does the world hate me?" he asked, looking up. The sun was just setting fully, and the moon was in the other direction. Danny found himself unable to look away from the moon, and then it hit him.

* * *

_**(I considered leaving you all hanging there! THANK ME!)**_

"What are we going to do?" Tucker cried, grasping his red beret desperately. His face was red, from thinking and feeling like he was about to cry.

Sam's purple eyes were extremely thoughtful, for she was putting all her energy into thinking of a way to save her friend and not cry. Goths don't cry, and Sam was a goth. She would not show weakness, for that wouldn't help Danny.

"Tucker," Sam said, hoping to get control of her friend.

"I mean, whatever that was…you saw what happened to the rest of the school! It was filed as a terrorist attack along with ghosts, but…that wasn't a ghost! And whatever it was has Danny!"

"Tucker!"

"What if…what if he's dead, Sam? The dust stuff was said to give people nightmares beyond belief, but Danny saved us. What if whatever it was is mad at Danny and is planning on killing him! We'll loose him!"

Something sharp and painful slapped across Tucker's face, leaving a bright pink mark on his dark skin. The glasses were knocked clean across his face. Purple eyes met his turquoise as Sam gripped his shoulders and shook him.

"You slapped me," was all Tucker said.

"Yeah," Sam admitted, not really believing she had hurt her friend.

"I needed that. Thanks."

"Anytime."

They stood in silence in for a minute, catching their breath and cooling down. After a few minutes, Sam gave a long breath.

"We have I find him," she stated. Tucker opened his mouth to say something, but Sam didn't give him the chance. "We can find Clockwork. I don't know how we will, but we will. We will go to Frostbite, and they will help us. I'm sure even Vlad would if he knew Danny had been kidnapped by someone —something by under his command. We will tell his parents."

Tucker stared at Sam in a bit of shock, surprised at the determination. Well, it wasn't much surprise, considering he knew that Sam fancied Danny. He had known it even before he made Sam confess.

But he also knew how clueless both of them were.

"We can't tell his parents!" Tucker protested, pushing those romancy thoughts away. "They'll freak out! What if they don't accept him? You know how much that'll hurt him."

"But what if we can't freakin' find him!" Sam countered, throwing her hands in the air with such annoyance. "Tucker, they could be our only hope, okay? I…We need him. He needs us."

"Sam?"

"What?"

"Do you want me to slap you?"

Sam blinked, realizing she had slapped Tucker for over reacting, just like she was. She felt guilty and hypocritical, but shook it off. "No. I'm good, now. Who…Who should we find first?"

Tucker sighed, realizing Sam was probably more emotional about this then he was being. He would have to try and take charge…even if it meant getting kicked in the shins with Sam's combat boots sometimes.

"I think…We need to find Clockwork," Tucker realized. "He could help us, even if he just gives us a vague clue as to what happened. He never turned Danny down totally before. The only thing is…we don't know how to find his lair. Only Danny does."

Sam swore under her breath, brushing some of her raven hair out of her face.

"But…maybe if we tell Frostbite…we can borrow the Infi-Map," Tucker added. "The yetis may know something."

Sam nodded, closing her eyes. "Yeah, okay. But first…we need to get Jazz."

Tucker grinned lightly. "Agreed." While Jazz wasn't much of a total help, she was great at planning and riddles. They would be closer with her than without her.

* * *

_**Okay. So, to answer some questions… Pairings: Danny/Sam. That's the only really strong one in here. Maybe Tucker/Jazz. Alas, any suggestions on who to pair Jack up with? I feel like he'll be alone forever unless he has someone! :O **_

_**Anyway, Jack is in the story now. Danny's escaped. Pitch is furious. All's in a day's work, right? **_

_**Also, do you want this story to be more humor and suspense, along with lots of (possible) action and (slight) gore? Or do you want it to be, like, totally mysterious, dabbles of humor, and lots of action and suspense? Send in a review vote!**_

_**Point out any mistakes please! Typed during school on meh phone. XD**_

_**Last thing…If I get up to…um…30 (?) reviews, I will post the other chapter tomorrow. ^^ Guest people can review as many times as they want. Considering how many people are following, that shouldn't be much of a challenge. **_

_**AND THANK YOU! I have never gotten this many responses to a story I posted a few days ago SO DANG FAST! Any questions? Leave a review. **_

_**Until next time,**_

_**~Jet**_


	4. Phantoms & Frost

_"Protector."_

_"Why-why me?"_

_"You would risk anything to save those you care about and even those_  
_you do not."_

_"I still don't understand."_

_"You don't have to, Phantom. But the world needs you. The worlds need you."_

_"But…Why?"_

Danny had never gotten the answer. He wasn't even sure how the moon, of all thing, had whispered to him. He didn't understand it. If he expected the moon to help, it only made him more confused than ever.

Slowly, Danny stood up. He was feeling a tad better, if he was still exhausted. But he knew Pitch would probably return for him, and probably want him dead. Fully dead, that is.

Danny didn't even try turning into Phantom. He just tossed his hands in his jean pockets, realizing how torn up and dirty they were. It was upsetting, but…He'd had worse.

The snow crunched lightly underneath his feet. The cold winds blew lightly, even though Danny wasn't phased by it. Lucky, he guessed. He would be freezing if it weren't for his ice powers.

A small smile crossed his face as he thought of Frostbite and the other yetis, recalling how they had been frozen when he had been  
learning. They had been freezing. Maybe if it got cold enough Danny would feel it. But until then, no one would know.

Danny almost slipped, and for the first time he realized he was at some frozen lake. Amity Park's lake would freeze sometimes, but it was rare for the ice to be thick enough to hold any weight. Here, Danny could walk on it without fear of it cracking.

Not that it mattered, considering he could just float out.

Maybe.

If he had enough energy.

Crossing the lake, Danny gazed up at the stars, searching for familiar constellations. It didn't really take long, seeing as he knew most of them by heart. He would trace it with his finger when he was little, connecting the dots. That was actually why he became fascinated in it, really. It had just been a game, which grew each day for him.

Kinda like his heroics.

It was fun, and he would always win. Sometimes he had doubt, and other times he was over confident, but the world seemed to work against him only to work with him.

But this time, Danny wasn't sure what the world was doing. There was the possibility that he would never get home. He'd never show his family how much better he could be a Christmas. Never ask Sam out, tell Jazz how much she meant, his parents would always hate his other half…No college, no more Dumpty Humpty albums, cheesy jokes and banter to shout out at random villains.

Actually, this might be Danny's first shot at a normal life.

"The first time something 'weird' in my book happens, it actually gives me a real chance for something purely normal," Danny laughed at the irony.

Danny found himself smiling as he walked through the snowy area, seeing a small amount of city lights in the distance. It was probably just a small town, but Danny would gladly go there to see if there was a cafe or something.

Just because he was half dead didn't mean he didn't need to eat.

Danny tried transforming into Phantom, wanting to fly there and make the trip quick. But the rings only made it halfway before retreating into nothing, leaving Fenton still there.

"Joy," Danny muttered, knowing that…that thing could very well be tracking him at the very moment. "I'm powerless, hungry, and lost. The world just hates me, doesn't it?"

"It may appear that way." It was a new voice, sounding silky and confident. "I used to think so, too. Only no one would ever notice me."

"Sounds like heaven," Danny replied, turning to face the stranger. Hiseyes widened, seeing how strangely similar the teenager looked to his ghost form. Save the blue eyes, which were even bluer then his when hewas using his ice powers.

"Not really," the boy replied. "People would never notice me. And for how long I've been around, it's not that pleasant."

"Yeah, well, you're still lucky. I'm usually…" Danny stopped,realizing he almost told everything to some random dude. "I'm usually the center of attention. The bad kind."

The boy shook his head. "I'd still call that lucky. Not anymore,though. People can see me, now. As long as they believe in me, that is."

Danny turned to look at the boy, curiosity filling his eyes. "Who are you?"

"Name's Jack. Jack Frost."

_"Jack Frost."_

_The voice was icy, terrifying, and sent chills down Danny's , Danny knew it was the figure speaking, and it was to him. But his name wasn't Jack Frost._

_"Fancy seeing you here, you little twit!"_

If this was that same person, that meant…he knew…Maybe he could helphim…No. Danny shook his head, dismissing the idea.

"Something the matter?" Jack asked, cocking his head. It was then Jack seemed to realize Danny's attire. "Aren't you cold?"

"Aren't you?" Danny countered.

"No, but I'm Jack Frost. Ya know, Guardian of children and all winter spirit."

"Never heard of ya."

Jack scrunched his face. "Then how can you see me? If you don'tbelieve…You shouldn't be able to see me…"

Danny shrugged. "I'm not what you would call 'normal.'" Danny mentally cursed himself for revealing that much to a total stranger.

Jack eyed the boy. They did look a bit alike, aside from all thecoloring and the boy was a tad shorter. And yet…If Jack wasn't so sure the boy's eyes were blue and not glowing green, he would've beenpositive it was Danny Phantom.

"What's your name?" Jack suddenly asked.

"Danny."

Jack paused. "_Danny Phantom_?"

* * *

_**BEFORE YOU SAY ANYTHING ABOUT LENGTH, I WAS SUPER CAUTIOUS ON SOMETHING! **_

_**1) I want Jack to have a girlfriend by the end. I have no clue who, but I have laid out a few options with others. There's Dani, Valerie, (possibly Jazz, if I don't pair her with Tucker), an OC (only is the majority of YOU want one...), Ember (random thought), and Baby Tooth (maybe). SEND IN YOUR VOTE! **_

_**2) Here's the biggie...And the reason I left it at a cliffeh: Should Danny reveal his secret to Jack and the Guardians or no? I already have the reaction of both typed up. (Hahaha...) And which ever one you decide against I will post as a seperate story. **_

_**3) Just an FYI, my speller check wasn't working as I typed this author's note. Sorry for any mispellings or grammar mistakes. **_

_**4) Um... If it makes it to 50 reviews by tomorrow, I will post Saturday. (And that's not a lot, considering the amount of follows there are. And guests can review as many times as they want uner different names.) So yeah. Any later and I'll post between Sunday-Wednesday. **_

_**Thank you all so much for the support and positivity on this! If it helps, my birthday is in a few weeks and reviews make a perfect gift! And favs! But hey... **_

_**Long author's note, huh? **_

_**Until next time, **_

_**~Jet**_


	5. Flying Will Never Be the Same

Sam glanced around the corner of the room, then walked in and waved for Tucker and Jazz to follow. Sneaking into the lab was sometimes easy, but other times impossible. They were lucky enough that Danny and Jazz's parents were at the police station, filling out a report.

"We need to Specter Speeder," Jazz stated.

Sam nodded and opened the door to the lab, walking down the stairs and waited for the others to follow in. The first thing Sam did was run to the in-door garage, pressing a button, it opening to reveal a green and white floating vehicle.

She threw open the door, claiming the driver's seat. Tucker and Jazz filed in after her, slapping on the seat belts.

"Fenton Phones," San mentioned.

Tucker nodded, opening the little cabinet in the passenger's seat and pulling out three head pieces. There was one left, which usually belonged to Danny. "Here," Tucker said, handing Sam and Jazz one. Both put it in instantly.

"Let's go," Sam said, putting the switch into drive. She backed up, the head of the car now facing the front of the portal. The yellow and black doors opened, and Sam instantly hit the brake as they dove into the Zone.

* * *

Danny caught his breath. He could answer with a yes, and his secret blown to the guy who the guy who kidnapped him hated. Or, or, he could keep it a secret and fin out if the teen was really to be trusted.

Or he could vanish.

Or ignore the question.

Danny debated for a while. Finally, coming up with an answer he assumed Jazz would be proud of, he answered, "Fenton. Danny Fenton. But, if it helps, I may know Phantom. Depends on why you want him."

Jack's eyes filled up with shock. Had he just…some random dude…Coooooooool…

Talk about lucky. He'd have to thank the Leprechaun later.

"So you know Danny Phantom? That rocks!" Jack's eyes were filled with excitement, and he literally felt like bouncing up and down. "Where is he?"

Danny, surprised by the reaction of Jack, said, "Uh…someplace…"

Maybe he hadn't thought the plan through enough.

Jack deflated slightly. He knew that, in order to find out where Phantom was, he would need to tell the teen about…him… Although, it had happened eight years ago. The boy would've been, what? Eight? Seven, maybe? Certainly old enough to believe. Heck, he probably believed in him now, seeing as he was able to see and talk to him.

Then he recalled how Danny had never even heard of him. Much less, been able to believe in him.

"Um…Can you tell me where he is? It's kinda important," Jack tried. He didn't really want to bring a mortal with him to the North Pole. It might be her whelming, and while Danny wasn't all that shocked currently and he knew Phantom…Jack didn't want to take any chances.

Danny shook his head. "Phantom likes to stay private. Unless you tell me why you need him, I can't pass along the word." Danny thought for a second. "Or his location."

Jack but his lip. He knew he would regret this later, and would probably get a good tall about it from the other Guardians.

"Fine, fine. I'll tell you." Jack smirked. On the other hand, it would really annoy Bunnymund. "Why don't you come with me?"

Jack held his hand out for Danny to take. Danny eyes it, not sure if it was a good idea to trust him. Even if that Pitch guy said something about him being his enemy, and the enemy of his enemy is his friend, there's always that neutral party.

"Well?"

Finally, Danny made his decision. Taking his hand, he watched with curiosity as the winter spirit smirked.

"Okay. Hope you're ready for this."

Danny's eyes widened. "Ready for wha—?" He was cut off by the sound of wind in his ears, pounding loudly as Jack zoomed them ink the freezing wind.

"To the North Pole!" Jack cried to the winds, which seemed too eager to obey.

Whatever Danny had been expecting wasn't this. The icy wind snapped at his hair, and although he wasn't affected by it, and he knew Jack noticed how he wasn't, he still felt a chill with contact on the 'winter spirit'.

"Sloooooow dooooown!" Danny cried. His ghost form never flew this fast, his top sore only being 212 MPH (as tested at the beginning of December), so he was overwhelmed by the speeds. What shocked him was how he wasn't receiving any damage from the high speeds. Surely the friction between his hair and skin would do something?

But, no.

"Isn't it fun?" Jack replied, laughing happily and without worry. The green-dapped snowy forest vanished, and in a split second they passed over a city. "See there? My ol' buddy Jamie lives there!"

Danny decided not to ask. Instead, he let out a little gasp as they flew through a cloud, becoming damp. But the water instantly froze over from cold and Jack contact.

Jack was observing the entire time. When he found out Danny wasn't affect by the friction, he just passed it off. After all, he said he wasn't exactly 'normal'. Maybe this was close to what that meant.

But when they passed through the cloud and iced over, Danny hasn't even shivered. It was shocking. Most people would be shivering their butt's off. Of course, if Jack hasn't been almost positive Danny wouldn't get hypothermia, he never would've done it.

So far, Jack's list of odd things about the random teen grew.

"Can we walk?" Danny cried. His weakness was no longer with him, it hidden with the feeling of fright yet enjoyment.

Jack smirked. "Okay." He dropped Danny.

Danny's eyes widened with shock and disbelief as he fell toward the city lights below. He knew Jack was watching him, so he didn't want to transform. But…if Jack didn't plan on catching him…

Jack, knowing what he did was uncalled for, shot down like a light. But, when he realized Danny held more of an angry expression than fearful, he paused for less then a second. Just another thing to add to his list of oddities about Danny.

Pushing that aside, Jack shot past Danny before he froze. When Danny's free fall caught up to him, Jack grabbed his shirt collar.

Danny was less than pleased.

"Do that one more time and I swear you'll never meet Phantom."

Jack could tell Danny was kinda bluffing, so allowed himself not to worry. "Don't worry. You're the one who wanted to walk, remember?"

"Walking and falling to my death are two totally different things!" Danny shot back, glaring.

Jack could've sworn he saw a tint of green take over the eyes. But, just as quickly as it had come, it had vanished.

Jack added that to his list, but soon pushed it aside. "Okay, okay. You don't like falling. I get it." Jack grinned lightly. "Ready to start heading again?"

Danny shook his head, replying with a bit of doubt, "As I'll ever be."

Jack grinned. "Good. Winds, to the North Pole!

And to the North Pole they headed.

* * *

**_There's a lot more, but trust me, the next chapter will be LONGER than this. And funnier, even if it may be a filler. Danny will also meet the rest of the Guardians, and the chapter after that the plot will finally start! :D _**

**_Danny will not reveal his secret YET! I have a special thing in mind…And my friend didn't want me to reveal his secret and it happens to be her birthday today so I thought this would make a cool present! But I STILL marked down all the votes!_**

**_I may just leave Jack single. That seems to also be a popular option, which I am becoming inclined to do. _**

**_Anyways, hope you all enjoyed the chapter and blah blah blah. You know the drill. _**

**_EARLY NOTE! For, like, the last week in December I will be OFF OF FANFICTION! I can't do anything…No posts, PMS, any of that. It's really sad. But it's for Christmas, so I bet you all understand! _**

**_Until next time, _**

**_~Jet_**

**_OH! PS: MY speller check is KIND OF working again. It does on my phone, but phones are…ya know…So yeah._**


	6. Even Phantom Loves the Sleigh

Jack flew in through the window, carrying a scowling Danny. When he set the boy down, Danny plopped down on his butt and sat there, unmoving.

"It was a joke!" Jack tried, laughing lightly.

"I'm not laughing," Danny replied. He had to hide a smile from crossing his face. While he knew that it was wrong, it had been kinda funny. Plus it was fun to see Jack acting the way he was.

"Come on! It's not like I actually let you fall in the ocean!"

"Could've fooled me!"

"What is going on?" North's voice echoed. The door to his office open as he emerged, two little elves behind him, one carrying a cookie tray. "I have a few days until Christmas and we know…Pitch will…try something…" He slowed down as he saw Danny. "Uh, who's that?" he asked Jack, looking back and forth.

"Him?" Jack laughed. "That's Danny."

"I'm right here!" Danny cried, waving his arms around. "No need to talk about me as if I am not!" Danny's eyes fell on North. "Whoa…Is that Santa Clause?" He felt slight hate towards him for his parents spats about his existence, but also wonder.

They ignored him.

North blinked. "Danny Phantom?" North was positive the kid didn't have glowing green eyes.

Jack shook his head, pointing at Danny as if it were obvious. "No, he's Danny Fenton. Not Phantom. Although, he does know where Phantom is."

Danny stood up, glaring harshly at Jack. "Whatever! That doesn't mean I'll tell you! You practically kidnapped me, dropped me over a floating city, tossed me through a freezing cloud, put me in an ice ball and let me sink in the ocean—" _That_ raised eye brows "—And expect me to believe you're some winter spirit!"

Danny took a breath, realizing what he just said. "Wait, you can control ice?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Not just ice. Winter elements. Snow, ice, winds, cold weather, that kind of stuff."

North watched the scene. It was like be was watching two brothers. At one point they were furious with each other, the next talking almost casually.

"That's neat, I guess…" Danny felt a bit jealous, but didn't show it. It's not like Jack could control ectoplasm, right? "But I'm still not telling you where Phantom is."

"Why not?"

"Because I _don't want to_!"

North slowly tip-toed away from the two boys. At the globe, he pulled the switch to send the auroras. The boy did know where Phantom was, and was just being stubborn. But, the boy could see them, which meant be believed. And, even as a teen, he was still a child.

"We need to know where Phantom is!"

"Well too bad!"

Ah, teenagers. No matter how old they were, considering Jack was over 300, teens will be teens.

"I'll…take you anywhere you want to go!"

"No need for that!"

"Why can't you just tell us where he is?"

"One, I don't want to, and two, _I DON'T WANT TO_!"

"Brake it up," North ordered, getting between the two boys. He knew the arguing would be pointless. He turned to Danny, looking at him. If be believed it was likely he'd tell him. After all, they were the Guardians. "Danny, do you know where Danny Phantom is?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, where is he?"

Danny smirked. "Somewhere."

Okay, so the boy didn't mind angering the Guardians. North made a mental note to make sure the kid's name was on the Naughty List. If it wasn't already, that is.

"What happened?" a girl vice cried. Tooth entered the room, a few little fairies hovering around her. "Was it Pitch? Did you find Phantom?"

Danny inwardly winced. That named seem to come up a lot.

"Oh?" Tooth asked, zooming down and looking at Danny. "Who're you?"

Danny opened his mouth to reply, but Tooth let out a little squeal. "Ooooooh! His teeth are white! I bet you floss!"

Danny blinked. He glanced at Jack, pointing a thumb at Tooth. "Tooth fairy?"

Jack nodded.

"I hate cold. I hate cold," Bunny's voice echoed. He entered the room, his big feet covered in snow. "I hate cold."

"Eh, it's not that bad," Danny and Jack jinxed, glancing at each other.

Bunny looked from Jack to Danny, then back and forth a few times. "Since when did Jack have a twin? And why _must_ Jack have a twin?"

Jack and Danny met each other's eyes, debating. "Nah," Danny dismissed. "His hair is way white."

"And he is shorter than me," Jack replied.

Danny turned towards Jack. "Am not! I bet you I'm taller than you!"

"How much do you wanna bet?" Jack asked, a smirk growing across his face. "Because, I bet, that if I'm taller than you, you have to tell us where Phantom is!"

North grinned. While it was funny, he also realized Jack practically tricked Danny. And if he didn't accept, he would appear coward.

Danny opened his mouth to protest, and lifted a finger, but it soon fell. "Never mind." He knew what was coming. Jazz had pulled lots of those tricks on him. Heck, Sam had a couple times to get something out of him.

Danny wouldn't let himself be fooled. This was _not_ a time to be clueless.

"Look, if you want to know where Phantom is, you have to tell me why you need him. That's that."

Jack sighed, deflated, and ran a hand through his hair. He had hoped Fenton would fall for it, but apparently, he was smarted than he looked.

"Fine," Jack cried.

"Jack," North suddenly said, placing a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Calm down."

**_(Prepare for slight OOC. I typed from here on in school.)_**

"Calm down?" Jack fired back. North now realized he was dealing with a stubborn teenager again, not the clever boy from a moment ago. "How can I calm down? Pitch is out there, probably getting stronger and stronger and spreading his fear! And here we sit, doing nothing about it! All we care about is finding some _Danny Phantom_ the Man in the Moon told us about. While you have an excuse to stay still and work on Christmas, and Tooth and Sandy have to work twenty-four/seven, Bunny and I could be out doing something! But no! We have to find some _teenager_ who can help us.

"We're waisting time! Don't you see it?" Jack finished his rant, throwing his hands in the air. He was panting, and the ground below him was completely iced.

Danny sighed, feeling incredibly guilty. He had almost no clue about whatever was going on, but Jack had just practically answered his question on why he was needed. Or why Phantom was needed.

"Jack," Danny began, walking forward. "I can't tell you where Phantom is, exactly."

Jack met Danny's eyes, a but of disbelief in them. "You don't know where he is? So you lied?"

Danny's eyes widened. "No! I know where he is! But…" How would he explain this without revealing his secret? "What I meant was you can't go to him. He has to come to you."

Jack exhaled sharply.

The other Guardians watched through it all, remaining silent. The first person to do anything was Sandy, who floated over slowly to North. A sand image of Phantom appeared above his head, and North seemed to get the idea.

"Danny," North said, walking over. "Could you call Phantom for us, somehow?"

Jack slammed his staff on the ground, sending frost all through it. "I'm going," he suddenly said.

"Where?" Tooth asked, cocking her head.

"To look for Pitch," Jack replied. "You guys can get in contact with Phantom. But Pitch is out there, probably slowly putting a few children into disbelief. Someone needs to hold him back and keep tabs."

Ah, there was the clever teen North saw a few minutes ago.

"Okay, but be careful," North ordered. "Don't cause to much trouble."

Jack cocked his head in a mocking manner. "Who, me? Get into trouble? It's like you read my mind." With a small wink and a sudden jump, Jack flew out the sun roof.

All the Guardians' eyes turned to Danny.

Danny gulped. They suddenly seemed a lot more intimidating without the 'fun' aurora Jack had.

"Well?" Bunny asked, looking expectedly at Danny. "We're waiting."

Danny opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. "Okay…" Suddenly, Danny realized he was at a loss for what to do.

Danny decided on making a duplicate. It would take a lot out of him, especially if he had to hold it for a long while, but he could do it. Maybe, later, he'd tell them that Fenton ha to go home, when really the duplicate would dissolve and Phantom would take his place.

"So, um, Phantom's a very…misjudged…" Danny considered using the word 'person' when he was trying to explain. He hoped they wouldn't assume he was 'an evil infestation of ectoplasm' and hate him instantly. "Immortal," Danny settled on. He had never thought about it before, but ghosts never died. Would that mean he would die? What about age?

"He's an immortal? We defiantly should've heard of him," Bunny stated.

There was a little light bulb above Sandy's head. Everyone turned their attention to it as images came and went quickly, only one person caught what it said.

"Phantom prefers to stay invisible," Danny answered.

North filed that under 'oddities' for the boy. Maybe he could compare notes with the other Guardians later.

"Anyway…um…To call him…" This is awkward… "You all need to…close your eyes! Yep! Phantom won't come if people can see him."

Pathetic, Danny told himself. Do you really expect them to believe that?

Surprisingly, the four of them nodded, closing their eyes.

Danny sighed with relief, calling a duplicate to form. It appeared as Fenton, but quickly shifted into Phantom.

Duplicates were something that was very curious. They seemed to have a mind of their own, but could relay messages back and forth to the original. The duplicate knew the plan, and would follow it while sending Danny the messages.

"Okay," Danny said. "He's here."

It was an instant reaction. North's eyes shot open as he stated at the white-haired, glowing green-eyed teen who was floating above his floor.

"Um…" Phantom said, waving lightly. "Hi?"

**_(Hm…I considered leaving it off here. But, seeing as I may not update for a while [school's being a pain and I can't write there], I'll keep it going.)_**

"Do you know who Pitch Black is?" North questioned, getting straight to business.

Phantom glanced at Fenton. If they said no, they might learn more about Danny's kidnapper than they had known. And if they said yes, they knew who he was, well…It wouldn't work all that well.

"I know who he is," Phantom answered with a bit of hesitation. "But I have don't know what he is, exactly."

"Fear," Bunnymund answered. "Pitch is fear. He brings nightmares to children and destroies hope."

Phantom bit his bottom lip and nodded. "Oh. If that's the case, and he's the big baddie, then I guess he's the person we have to stop, right? Piece of cake."

If he escaped as Phantom earlier, it couldn't be too hard to defeat him with a bunch of others, could it? Still, Danny feared he was missing something. Like the last puzzle piece, yet he couldn't quite place it.

"Easier said than done, mate," Bunnymund mentioned.

"Phantom," Tooth began, and Phantom glanced at her with curiousity. She flew over to the globe, pointing at the little lights that glew with vibrance. "Each of these lights is a child. Each one believes in us. If they were to go out…The world would be very dark…"

Phantom stared at the globe. Very dark…A shiver ran through Danny's spin as he recalled Dan, his darker, evil self. A world where everyone feared…him. That would NOT be the case, Danny was sure.

"Well we won't let him win," Phantom said, uncrossing his legs and landing on the ground. His eyes glowed vivdly as he looked at the lights. "We can't."

The Guardians looked at each other, surprised by the sudden burst of courage. Phantom had the voice of a leader, not the nervous teenager frmo a moment ago.

Suddenly, Phantom's eyes widened as they fell on a little group of dots in South America. They were blinking on and off, and at alarming speeds.

"There," Phantom mentioned, pointing to the lights. "We need to go there. Now."

Sandy nodded. North grinned. Tooth looked a bit worried. And Bunny was really not wanting to go on a sliegh ride.

"Come," North mentioned. "We leave now."

Fenton, Phantom, Sandy, and Tooth followed North outside to the sliegh. Danny was surprised by the yetis, but was relieved they weren't going all 'Great One' on him.

Then again, they probably didn't know about his little heroic act, either.

When the door opened up and the sliegh came out, both Danny's jaws dropped. "Way cooler than the Specter Speeder," Fenton put in.

"Way," Phantom agreed.

North smirked, somewhat noticing Bunnymund hadn't joined them. Wuss. "Everyone loves the sliegh."

Except, that it, Bunnymund.

* * *

Jack flew quickly through tons of towns and cities, bringing a bit of snow here and there. He didn't know exactly where he was going, but the wind seemed to be pushing him somewhere. Jack didn't argue. He usually went where the wind took him.

But when the wind abruptly stopped, and Jack would've crashed hard on the ground if it weren't for his own flying abilities, Jack had to clue where he was.

It was a small town, a few houses, a super market, a mall, a few schools, but that was it. What was shocking, though, was the way it was abandoned. No kids were outside and playing in the snow, there were no cars, all the lights in the houses were shut off.

"What happened here?" Jack asked out loud, landing on the dusty road. His bare feet brought up a small dust cloud, making Jack cough lightly. The place obviously needed more wind.

He walked more, coming to a small sign, which words were covere in a layer of brown dirt. Jack squinted, whipping the dirt away so he could read the sign.

"Amity Park, huh?" he asked, looking around the town. "I wonder what happened to this place…"

His feet hit something, and Jack bent down to pick it up. The dust clud that came was less condensed than the others, and it was clear to Jack that he was looking at a newspaper. The paper itself was yellow and crisp, clearly being ages old.

The date at the top read: 2004, April.

Jack tried to make out the top article, but most of the words were faded. After all, it had been, what? 8 years ago? Around…it was around the time of the Pitch deal.

Jack did his best, hoping to make out the faint words on the front page.

_Boy dies…portal…mourning…sister…hunters…town deserted…deadly…_

And that was it. Nothing else could be made out to Jack, and it bugged him. Something had happened to the town so long ago, and Jack had no idea what it was or why it had been abandoned.

That's when he realized how different the air felt. It was like something toxic had been added. When Jack tried to bring a little snow, it vanished instantly.

And so, Jack didn't know what to do about the town called Amity Park.

That is, until his eyes fell on one, huge house, where one word on the roof was just visible: Fenton

* * *

**_After extending it, I still leave you at a some-what cliffy. Kill me if you want…Just know you have just about caught up with me typing the story. I have, like, just 1,000 more words of the next chapter typed. So I may save that for a while later and post it as my birthday thing/Christmas thing. Either one. Unless I suddenly get a lot more time on my hands. _**

**_So yeah. _**

**_CAN I JUST SAY THANK YOU?! This story has reached over 70 reviews, 66 follows, and 39 favorites! OHMIGOD! I am, like, EXPLODING with happiness! I read each and every review, and most of them warm my heart! :D _**

**_Sorry if any of the characters seemed OOC. Again, over half of this is typed up during school. My speller check may be working again, but let me tell you, my time is not. _**

**_If anyone is willing in co-writing an RotG story with me, PM me or something. I have a bajillion plots for them, and some of them are sticking in my head. I wrote most of them down, and I'm willing to co-write a few. I may post a few stories if I get bored, and they will not update as quickly as this one…Most likely. _**

**_Until next time, _**

**_~Jet_**


	7. Far Frozen

Sam crashed the Specter Speeder into a pile of snow. It was a complete accident, of course, for Tucker was very bad at telling her where to land. Jazz hadn't been any help, for she had been clinging to the seat grips with all her might.

Luckily, the Speeder received only minimum damage, and they were able to file out with general ease.

"Next time, Sam, I'm driving," Jazz stated. Sam may have her license, but if she couldn't keep her head cool for her (possible) boyfriend, than it was better the elder girl drive.

"I completely agree with you," Sam muttered, kicking open the door to the Speeder and stepping out.

"And I call passenger!" Tucker cried, climbing out of the car after Sam, Jazz soon following.

"We need to get straight to business," Sam declared, brushing to snow off herself. She hadn't thought to bring her jacket, but the cold wouldn't faze her until she was able to save Danny.

"I know," Tucker said. "Frostbite's should be in that direction!" He pointed north, where there were some lights shining, visible in the eeriness of the Ghost Zone.

Sam didn't need to be told twice, for she took off running towards it. Jazz and Tucker followed up, but were no match for keeping pace. Sam was the quickest on a normal day, and today she was more than determined to find her crush.

After no more than ten minutes of straight running (Tucker had more exercise then than the time Sam had used the fake PDA), they were greeted by Frostbite himself at the foot of the village.

Frostbite towered over eight feet tall, and his fur was pure white. True, his eyes were different colors and one of his hands (cough-paws-cough) was entirely ice, but he looked friendly enough.

"Friends of the Great One!" he cried, recognizing them from the Infi-Map incident. Jazz was a new face, but if the Great One's friends trusted her, Frostbite would welcome her with open arms. "What brings you here?"

Sam wasted no time. "Danny's missing, and we need help finding him."

Frostbite's welcoming expression instantly turned into one of concern. The Great One has been a top priority for Frostbite ever since he saved the entire Zone from Pariah. If he was endangered, all the yetis were instantly in on it. Even the few Phantom had frozen whenever they were training him to use his ice powers.

"Tell me what has happened and we will begin right away," Frostbite told them. "But first, let us go somewhere more private. We will chat in the dining hall."

Sam scowled. "No! Here and now! Each second is a second Danny's life is in danger!"

Frostbite, surprised by the outburst, took a small step back. But he nodded firmly, realizing how dire the situation was.

"Very well, tell what has happened."

And Sam did, never stopping to take a breath. She even explained that Tucker had slipped on his own untied shoes before the sand had rolled in, and when it did, Tucker had explained he felt faint. She spoke of what happened with Danny and how it reacted to his ice and ecto powers. Lastly, she told him of the shadowy figure she saw take Danny away, and the words exchanged, that she had heard.

And that included Jack Frost.

By the end, Frostbite knew exactly what was going on. He knew all too well, except one thing: How Pitch had even obtained the ability to dimension-hop. He knew that Pitch, even at full power, would never be able to successfully open a portal to another dimension.

After all, as yetis, they knew all about that universe. True, they hadn't wanted to spend eternity serving under North, and had therefore formed into their own group, and had moved into the Zone by a portal MiM had offered. Of course, Frostbite suspected Clockwork had something to do with it, too, but he could never be sure what the Time Master had in mind.

"Pitch Black," Frostbite informed, knowing the name well. He was the only yeti old enough to be able to know about the dark ages in that world, and he was still willing to place his life on the line to save the Great One, even if it meant going back.

"Who?" Jazz asked.

"You know him as the Boogie Man," Frostbite explained.

Jazz felt like rolling her eyes. "Oh, come on! That's completely illogical! The Boogie Man is just a myth!"

Frostbite raised his eyebrows. "Oh? And I suppose the same goes for ghosts?" Jazz remained silent. "My point exactly; true, Pith isn't known in your universe, so it isn't shocking that you'd dismiss the idea. However, I can assure you he is very real."

"Don't need to tell me twice," Sam muttered, being the only one who really recalled the events.

"Continue, please," Jazz asked eagerly. This was new information as well as a key to finding Danny. If she could find Danny, she'd be willing to believe in Santa Clause, whom she had never actually believed in.

Frostbite nodded. "He lives off of fear. He gets more powerful as the fear in a world increases. I'd assume he came to our world because ghosts are able to cause quiet a large amount of fear in a relatively short amount of time."

"However, if Pitch took the Great One, it is unknown to me what he could want. If he was looking to take over the universes, I would say he would eliminate all threats. That includes the Guardians —who you have yet to know of— and the Great One.

"But another possibility is that Pitch isn't totally aware of the Great One's identity or unique…species, I would say, and would want to keep him alive to figure it out. But, knowing the young Phantom, there's a chance he could've escaped Pitch, and if that were to happen, I wouldn't know what may happen past that."

Sam let out a breath, taking in all the information. Danny could have been killed or imprisoned, or he could have escaped into an alternate reality entirely. And, knowing Danny, he would most likely be in complete danger. Danger did seem to chase after the hybrid, even if he wasn't asking for it.

"So, you're saying, there's a third of a chance Danny is dead?" Sam asked, her eyes slightly tearing up.

Frostbite shook his head. "More around a forth, seeing as I highly doubt the Great One would allow himself to be slain so easily. I believe he has most likely escaped. But, yes, there is a possibility that…" Even Frostbite had a hard time admitting the facts that seemed so obvious and in front of his face. "That the Great One has perished."

Sam slapped her leg, ignoring the sting that shot up through it. "No! I refuse to accept that! He escaped; I know he has. We will go find him. Frostbite?"

"I fully support you in the matter," Frostbite said sincerely; anything to save the young hero, and if it meant giving a few old items to the friends of his, so be it. "I may actually have a few things to assist you. But I do believe you need a way to the universe first, correct?"

"Yeah," Tucker said, making himself known. "We were thinking that Clockwork may be able to help. We just don't know the way to his lair."

Frostbite shook his head. "I doubt that Clockwork would be much assistance, if he planned on helping, he would've. It's a known fact to us at the Far Frozen. He intervenes where he believes he should, and doesn't when he believe he shouldn't."

Sam scowled. "Fine. Clockwork is useless. Do you know a way to the universe, then?"

Frostbite grinned. "You're lucky I do. You know of the Infi-Map?"

"How could we forget?" Tucker muttered. "I still can't really ride roller coasters because of it."

"There's more to it than meets the eye. Come, follow me." He gestured for them to follow, and they did, following him all the way to the shrine area. They're mouths had dropped at it, even if some had seen it before. There had been more added to it, such as the event with the DisAsteriod and even the short tale of Vortex.

In the back, where there was a blank wall, Frostbite placed his hand on it. It moved to the side, revealing a completely hidden chamber that looked like a museum.

"This is where we hold all of our items too precious to loose. The Infi-Map is the only exception, and needs greater security from personal yetis."

Jazz, who had been taking everything in to form a relative plan, was shocked. Some of the items looked like they were from before the medieval era, but also looked nothing like the time periods before that. It was like an entire time period had been added into existence, and all Jazz wanted to do was read up on it.

That is, after Danny was home and safe. Her little brother would always come first, that much was fact.

Frostbite lead them to one item, which was a little dream catcher on a necklace. "Dream Catchers were fabled to let the good dreams trickle down while they caught the bad dreams. This is true, in a sense. They allow what needs to be let in, and what doesn't need to be caught. If you need to be exposed to a fear, you are until you beat it. If it's a good dream you are wanting, the Catcher sees it unneeded unless it would assist you in the future."

The teens nodded, Jazz being the first to say something. "But why would it be particularly helpful in this situation?"

Frostbite grinned. "This Catcher, known as Nightmare, repels nightmares in general. Anyone wearing it cannot be touched by a nightmare, which means Pitch would be utterly powerless against someone wearing it."

"I call dibs," Tucker said.

Frostbite grinned, removing it from the glass containment and placing it around his neck. "It hasn't been used in ages. And when I say that, I mean it literally," Frostbite informed.

Slowly, he moved onto the next artifact, which was oddly a pair of small wooden glasses, but they held no glass. "Made by 'witches' long ago, this gives the wearer the ability to see things that normally cannot be seen. By that, I mean things people would normally have to believe in to see." He removed it, turning to Jasmine. "I believe this would suit you, Friend of the Great One."

"I'm his older sister," Jazz replied, but accepted the glasses as they slipped into her face. They fit almost perfectly over her real eyes, and the redhead grinned. She had always wanted glasses, having felt they would've made her appear smarter.

"Ah, then Sister of the Great One will wear the Spectacles of Disbelieving," Frostbite corrected, grinning down at the girl. He had never met one of the Great One's family members, and who would've guessed it. They looked nothing alike. Well, accept their noses. They appeared almost identical.

With two of three people prepared, Frostbite turned to Sam. "For you, I have something that may work out best. You seem like the person who would want to kick Pitch into the Ghost Zone for life (and death). I believe something that would allow you to come in contact with them would work."

Sam nodded sharply. "I want to do more than kick his butt into the Ghost Zone. I want to kick his *** into the next million years, at least."

Frostbite nodded, moving to the place near the end of the room where a little, glowing green gem was placed in a golden bracelet. "Perhaps this?"

Sam's face tightened. "I'm not much of a fan of jewelry," she stated.

Frostbite grinned. "You'll be fine with this, I assure you." He removed it, handing it to Sam. She took it with caution, eyeing it as if it would explode. "It will give you abilities similar to those of…I believe they are called Men in Black?"

"Guys in White," Sam corrected, not wanting to have THOSE kind of abilities. "But they are a cheap rip-off of the Men in Black. I don't think this would fit me, actually…"

Frostbite shook his head dismissively. "Nonsense! Don't you want to try having the technology to become invisible and intangible? This will allow you to do that, and even allow you to see those who are invisible. However, those sight abilities are not as sharp as the Spectacles."

Jazz couldn't help but grin, placing a hand on the glass and adjusting them, loving the way it felt.

Sam nodded, finally understanding why it would fit her. "So I can personally take out the person who tried to take Danny, right?"

Frostbite nodded. "Yes, but they will not give you any control over ectoplasm or anything in that category. They may enable you to fly. That is the one thing about them that has seemed to vary per wearer."

Sam nodded, loving the feel the bracelet held then. "Right, if that's the case, show us to the portal. It's about time we find Danny."

Frostbite shook his head, protesting slightly. "I think you should take Cujo with you, however. The young puppy has taken a liking to the Great One, and I believe he could be the only way of tracking him."

Ah, yes. The green puppy had been staying with them at the Far Frozen for a few months. Ever since the little pup had arrived, it had been obvious. And, when they found out he had the Great One's scent, it was only a matter of time until it would be crucial.

Sam had to agree. She had always loved Cujo, but this time his role would be essential for finding Danny.

"Right, let's get going, shall we?"

And, within the next ten minutes, Sam was holding Cujo, Jazz was following behind Tucker, and Frostbite was leading them towards a swirling yellow portal. The next second, they were jumping through, all of them determined to find Danny.

If they had the slightest inkling to the adventure ahead of them, they would've thought twice about everything. Sadly, they didn't, and they were entering a world unknown; a world where they could be the prey, even with the equipment.

For none of them had known they would end up in a little castle with all these little humming bird things flying around their heads.

* * *

**_Well, I was a bit later in hopes of getting this up. Sorry about that. I've been ditching homework all week because I'm writing! :) _**

**_Anyway, now Sam and them are caught up. Mostly. _**

**_Something I forgot to mention…This takes place after a somewhat AU version of PP. Phantom Planet has occurred, but only select people can remember it. People who can are typically people who would've figured it out, but excludes Danny's parents. Eh, confusing, but it'll work out. _**

**_Ida Manson knows, only because she's one of my favorite DP characters! _**

**_ANYWAY, OMG! SO MANY REVIEWS AND FAVS! Thank you all so much! _**

**_I feel like I am forgetting something important… OH YEAH! Thank blackkyu for beta-ing! :D _**

**_Until next time, _**

**_~Jet_**


	8. Smarticles

Phantom and Fenton were both having a blast as they rode through the loop-de-loops. It was way better than some random ride they had rode way back when, North had heard, but hadn't paid much attention.

"This is awesome!" Fenton yelled, his hair being blown back.

North silently cursed himself. They shouldn't have brought a mortal. Fenton would be in danger.

Well, too late now.

"I wish—"

"Phantom!" Fenton said, sounding oddly strict. "No wishing!"

Phantom laughed. "Relax. Desiree isn't even here," he brushed off.

North could only wonder who Desiree was.

The town was a nice, slightly decorative with children running everywhere. Sometimes one child would run right through a Guardian, only to stop and turn around to gape.

What really surprised everyone was that Phantom could speak to adults and children, where the Guardians could only speak to those who believed.

But, somehow, Phantom could also vanish, being seen by no one. Fenton had assured them he was still around, but it didn't hold any guarantee. Fenton once had even smiled slightly and shook his head, his raven hair ruffling. They had no idea why, but the boy had suddenly looked like a weight had been taken off his shoulders.

North felt uneasy. Bunny had yet to show up, and they were allowing a mortal to come along with them. Not just any mortal, but one North didn't even know. And North knew the name and looks and wants of each and every person on Earth. He knew he had heard the name Daniel Fenton before, but it was like trying to finish a puzzle with only half the pieces.

Danny, on the other hand, was very glad. He had released his duplicate right after it vanished, feeling instantly revived. Sure, his strength was slowly building, but Phantom dubbing took just about that much out of him. The dissipation of his duplicate had almost instantly given Danny a boost of energy; energy Danny had a feeling he would need for later.

"What is going on here?" Tooth asked, flying around gently. The children couldn't feel them, but they could see them. It was so odd…and she wasn't even sure if they could hear them. It was like the children were in some kind of limbo…or the Guardians were.

"I think it has something to do with dimensional balance," Fenton said. Danny was smart, especially when it came to things from other worlds and space. He would always be, seeing as his life sometimes depended on it.

And the fact that Jazz wouldn't leave him alone until he had a few theories of his own helped.

Sandy formed a question mark above his head.

Danny grinned slightly, pausing in the slow walk to face them all. "See, from what I gather, something is going on between different universes. The thing is, I'm not from here; and neither is Phantom."

That got all of their attention, especially North's. Anything on the mysterious teenagers would be important, seeing as it was MiM who told them about him; even if it was vague.

"Where are you from, then?" Tooth asked. "I don't recognize you from any of the teeth's memories."

Danny wanted to say a witty retort, but held his tongue, seeing that she looked totally serious. "I think I'm—we're—from another universe. See, Santa Clause, Toothfairy, Easter Bunny, Sandman, and Jack Frost are just myths. Total and complete myths. I would know, see as I went to the North Pole. And if you were real, you defiantly would've reacted to the DisAsteriod."

"The what?" North asked in shock as he turned towards Danny.

"My point exactly," Danny stated. "You've never even heard of the largest threat against our world. So, it's safe to assume this is a different world, with entirely different circumstances."

Danny paused, a curious look coming to his face. "I wonder if there's another me…"

North's eyes widened as it dinged in his head. He instantly knew who the boy was, and the guilt flooded him greatly.

Daniel Fenton had died eight years ago by a large explosion in the town known as Amity Park from his parent's antics in attempt to get into some world known as the "Ghost Zone". Jasmine had survived, and ended up in the custody of their old friend, Vladimir Masters, successor of the Dairy King.

North didn't even have to debate telling Fenton the information, knowing it would probably cause a strong reaction. Even more so because Fenton and Phantom both had that heroic feeling about them, and if they had known the explosion had caused the minor radiation existing in the town to sky rocket…

North would never forgive himself if they found out.

"Even if there was another me, I don't know how he'd react," Danny laughed. "I mean, really? I'm from another dimension and am…unique in my own way."

The Guardians were about to question him, but a hole soon opened up from underneath, and Bunnymund stepped out.

"I don't know what it is, mate," he began, "but I swear something was trying to stop me from getting here."

Or, more likely, he wasn't supposed to hear what had been said, North thought, amused.

"Well, you're here now, and that what matters," Tooth said.

A kid walked right through Bunnymund, and Bunny shot around, trying to get a good look at the chocolate-skinned boy as he ran by. "What the heck was that? Who was that?"

"Mason Delly," North answered, his eyebrows creasing. "He's always been a believer…and it was like he didn't even see us."

"I got it!" Danny cried, earning odd looks from passing adults and giggles from kids. "I think I actually know what's going on!"

Bunny was still confused, and gave an odd look to the other Guardians. They were all interested in what Danny had to say. It was then Bunny also realized that Phantom was missing, but decided not to bring it up. Bunny liked Fenton because he annoyed Jack. He didn't like Phantom because he looked like Jack.

Sandy looked eager, a sand-hand appearing over his head with fingers curling in, obviously wanting Danny to spill.

"It's like, I think, what happened with Pariah Dark!"

They all blinked, utterly confused.

Danny waved it off, but decided to give then a brief explanation. "Well, he was a big baddie and wanted to rule the real world and the Ghost Zone—" North raised his eyebrows "—and he attempted to take over Amity Park. He almost succeeded, and he even transported our entire town to the Zone. But Phantom beat him and everything was okay."

North had to remember to ask about the Ghost Zone, but he just hoped it wouldn't give away too much.

"And how does that relate to what's goin' on, mate?" Bunny asked, cocking his head slightly.

Danny threw his head back and laughed. "Everything! Pariah transported our entire town to the Zone using Fright Knight's sword (when sliced by it, you live out your greatest fear). See, our town was THOUGHT to have vanished off the map, when in reality, it was still there…only in a ghostly version. Everyone who entered from the real world could hear and see everything, but anyone who was in the town when it was transported was intangible to everyone from the real. I think the same thing is happening here…in a sense."

Danny didn't mention anything about it being his fault, or how he had even gotten that information. It hasn't been that hard, seeing as he had talked with Ida Manson, Sam's grandmother, who had been out of town the moment it happened.

Sometimes, he was glad the entire universe he was from knew his secret.

The Guardians had caught the gist of what Danny had been saying, and they didn't know how to react. North mumbled something about finding Jack, and Sandy seemed to be the only one who fully understood. Images flashed above his head quickly. It was even too fast for Danny to catch, and Danny ended up only being able to see the question mark at the end.

But Danny had a guess at what he was asking.

"Well, our town was transported back when I—when Phantom sealed him back up in his sarcophagus. I think that whoever is causing this needs to be brought down to reverse the effects."

"But why were the lights blinking?" Tooth asked. "I mean, if they aren't in this world…shouldn't they be off?"

Danny shook his head. "It's a limbo, I think, because most of them can still see us. They can hear and feel me, which is something I don't understand. But I'd assume it's because I'm…because I'm mortal. Anyway, the lights are blinking because they are half in and half out, and I think that the globe thingy is just confused."

Man, if Jazz was with him, he knew she would be beaming at him.

None of the Guardians had expected Fenton —who had been super stubborn in getting them Phantom— to have the true intelligence to add up all the facts by simple observations.

"We should probably get Jack, shouldn't we?" Tooth asked. She felt really guilty about not including the other Guardian in this very crucial event and talk. The boy was kind of like a son to her; and always felt that she owed him. After all, he spent 300 years without the slightest knowledge of who he was, and she had the answers the entire time.

"I agree," North said, his Russian accent seeming a tad stern. "We need to find the source of whatever this is and attack it, head on!"

Danny bit his lip, wanting to protest. He considered saying something, but wasn't sure if it was very important. Then again, anything could cause a table to turn, right?

"We still don't even know who—or what—is causing this to happen," Danny interjected. "And if we did, they would be really powerful. I'm not talking Pitch-powerful." Danny knew what Pitch did, and his power would be easily beaten. Danny knew it was like the Fight Knight, in the sense he would have to stand up to the fear. Courage got rid of fear. Hope only tried to prevent it.

"I think what we're facing is more than just Pitch," Danny muttered. He faced the Guardians, and seemed oblivious to the way they were staring at something behind him. "Whatever it is must have something to do with inter-dimensional traveling, otherwise there would be no way to enter an entire town into a limbo!"

"Danny?" Tooth asked, pointing behind him.

Danny didn't hear her; he was on a roll. "I mean, it could be a ghost. But it would have to be powerful, ya know? Maybe Clockwork would know…But then we'd need to find a freakin' portal to the Zone! And who knows? Maybe the Zone isn't even real…And if it is, there's no guaranteeing that it would be the same!"

"Danny…" North said.

Sandy had an arrow above his head, and it was frantically pointing behind Danny.

Danny raised an eyebrow, noticing. "It's right behind me, isn't it?"

They nodded, and Danny turned around. "Oh."

* * *

**_Who's –or what's–behind Danny? Did he seem out of character, or did my logic not even make sense to you guys? _**

**_Yep. Sorry for not updating earlier…I was in a battle of spite with a friend. I won. For the third time in a row. ;) I feel proud of myself. XD Then again, my birthday is tomorrow… You can't be mad at me, can you? Well, I guess you can be, don't take it out angrily on me…I guess…does that make sense? Ah, never mind. _**

**_HEY! Who wants to review as a birthday gift? :D Or favorite? But what I would prefer you all do is go to my profile and vote on the poll…I have something big coming, F&F sort of related. It depends on what comes in on the poll… *grins slyly* _**

**_PS: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I cannot thank you all ENOUGH for all the support I am getting on this story! I feel so loved! :D _**

**_SHOUT OUT TO BLACKKYU FOR BEING A BETA!_**

**_Any fanart for my story? I would love some! I'm kinda falling out of drawing and stuff myself, so it'd be rockin' awesome!_**

**_Also, to those who actually read my author's notes…thank you. From now on, when you leave a review, I'm going to do one of those word things so I know who's. Today's: HAPPY BIRTHDAY_**

**_Sorry for the long author's note, FYI…_**

**_Now, don't forget to visit the poll! _**

**_Until next time,_**

**_~Jet _**


	9. Cujo and Kidnappings

"Whoa," Sam said, being the first one to recover. The seven pillars were high above their heads, but it was obvious that the little…hummingbird people? It was obvious that the little fairies (Sam decided to call them that) were shocked upon their arrival.

"Amazing," Jazz breathed, taking it all in.

"Yes, it is," Frostbite muttered, laughing lightly as one of the little faries flew towards him. "I believe this is Toothiana's place. You may know of her as the Tooth Fairy."

"Please," Tucker brushed off. "All I see is open feilds and planes."

Frostbite felt like hitting himself. He should've known Tucker wouldn't be able to see any of it, for he didn't believe. It was doomed, but it would take a while for him to locate the portal again. They would have to find Danny first.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," Sam muttered. Slowly, she set Cujo down. Best get straight to business, right? "Go on, boy. Find Danny."

* * *

Even though Danny hadn't ever set foot in Toothiana's palace, he had his sent within seconds. And, within those seconds, they were somewhat riding on the huge, green mutt as he headed towards South America.

Danny didn't know whether to run away in fear or burst out laughing. He had heard the swords unsheathing from one of the Guardians behind him, and the fact that the 'person' in front of him was a threat made him laugh. Then again, the 'person' in front of him was actually a threat when he thought he was being threatened.

"Danny…" North said slowly. "Back away."

Danny finally burst out laughing. "Back away from what? A dog?"

"It's about to eat you!" Tooth cried, sounding oddly protective.

Again, Danny laughed. He moved a bit and began to scratch under the large dog's chin, and smiled when the tail began to wag and his foot began to pace. "Oh, Cujo's harmless! Practically, that is. If any of you are holding any weapons I suggest you hide them. He may think its a toy, and you'll never get it back."

All the Guardians, excluding Sandy, glanced at each other. Tooth was ready for a fight, but she relaxed. Bunnymund had his boomerangs out, and was about to throw them. North had his swords ready for attack, but he quickly placed them behind himself. All of them dropped any harmful stance, whistling as if they had never had anything put.

Cujo finally shrunk down to his puppy side and allowed Danny to pick him up, licking the hybrid's face all the way.

"Guys, this is Cujo," Danny introduced, turning around to show the Guardians the green puppy in his arms.

North walked over, patting his hand on the puppy. He got a lick on the far for that, and he allowed an odd smile on his face. "Well, he has more manners than the elves. Is he yours?"

Danny looked at Cujo in the eye, thinking about that question. "Sort of, I guess. I mean, Cujo really likes me. And he's trained…mostly. You can thank Sam for that…Anyway, I'm not sure if he's my dog or not."

All the Guardians were curious as to who this 'Sam' was, but decided against asking about him. It was probably another friend of Fenton's.

"He soooooooo cute!" Tooth cried, flying over and petting the pooch. He sniffed her before licking her, getting her feathers a little slobbery. "Um…Does he lick a lot?"

Danny shrugged. "He more playful, really. He must be really tired if he isn't attacking me instantly."

"DANNY!"

Danny's eyes widened as he glanced over his shoulder, an instant laugh escaping his mouth as he saw who was running over. Sam, Tucker, Jazz…Even Frostbite! All of them were running over to him…

"Sam! Tucker! Jazz!" he cried, almost dropping Cujo as he ran to meet up with them. Yeah, he got a few odd looks from pedestrians, but it was clear they all saw the other people running towards him. "You guys found me!"

Sam was the first to reach him, tackling him into the ground as she did so. Jazz piled up next, followed by Tucker. Frostbite jogged up, grinning.

"Great One! It is great to see you unharmed!"

If Danny was using as much sense as he had been, he would've realized this was just about to give away his secret.

"You're okay!" Sam cried into his ear, and for a second he thought he felt something got and wet on the side of his face. "We thought that… No, all that matters is you're safe now!"

Tucker got off, dusting off his shorts as he glanced around. The necklace was vibrating slightly, but Tucker didn't realize it. He just knew it felt like someone was watching him… Without knowing it, Tucker walked right trough Bunnymund.

"Hey, not cool, mate," Bunny said, glaring at Tucker.

Jazz shot up, flattening her hair slightly as she stared at the Guardians. Her glasses were working like a charm, and not only were they visible, she could hear them. "No. Freaking. Way!" Goodbye what little sense of logic Jazz had left. If she was right about who she was looking at, she would tear up each paper she had submitted for her college, seeing as it was JUST around the corner. Like, next year.

And if ghosts and magic was real, science was probably false.

"Danny!" Sam cried again, pulling him into a hug. "When Frostbite said you might've been…"

Danny opened his mouth to respond, but closed it. Instead, he hugged Sam back, saying he was sorry. "I hadn't met to worry you, you know that, right?"

"Just like you don't mean to be attacked by almost half the Ghost Zone?" Sam joked, but Danny heard her light sob. Suddenly, she came out of the hug and slapped Danny on the arm lightly before staring into his eyes fiercely. "Don't you ever scare us like that again!"

Danny laughed. "I won't do it. On purpose, at least. But I'm not promising anything," Danny stated, watching as Sam snorted and stood up.

Frostbite had approached North, offering his hand. "Nice to see you again," he said.

North just blinked. "No way! Your the yeti that didn't want an alliance with me…"

Frostbite laughed lightly. "No, I didn't really want to work in a workshop for eternity, and a few agreed with me."

"What's with the 'Great One' business?" North asked.

Sandy was watching Tucker with amusement as he stared at Jazz and Frostbite, trying to figure out who the heck they were talking to. What Sandy noticed was the Catcher around his neck and his eye widened, then a smile formed.

That's where that had gone.

Now that Sandy think about it, he noticed to other various artifacts on the others. It didn't surprise him, really. He just hadn't known they could be worn by mortals.

Then again, they most likely weren't from that dimension…

"Um…" Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked at Frostbite, who got the message. It was unknown that Phantom and Fenton were the same person.

"North, the 'Grat One' refers to the title Phantom and…Danny gained while saving the world from Pariah Dark and his reign," Frostbite informed. Technically it wasn't a lie. Just…beind the truth.

"Ah," North said.

Meanwhile, Toothiana and Sam sparked up a conversation.

"So, are you a friend of Danny's?" Tooth asked. She saw how Sam had reacted when she saw Danny. She had seen the dark blushes on both of their face's. She was to say it was love, and they were both clueless about it.

Samm nodded. "His best, although Tucker's his best guy friend," she informed. Her gaze traveled to Frostbite, Bunny, Danny, and North as Danny and Frostbite shared the story of how Phantom defeated Pariah Dark.

Tooth grinned. "You know, I don't recognize you from any of the teeth in my collection." If she could open up a few sweet memories (even if they were from an alternate reality), then maybe she could encourage her and Danny to date. Oh, she was a sappy one for romance!

Sam blinked. "Oh my gosh, you're the Tooth Fairy!" Her jaw dropped as she added up the facts with North and Bunny. "Wait, does that mean that they're the EAster Bunny and Santa Clause? Like, the Santa Clause and Easter Bunny!"

Tooth chuckled lightly as she looked at the four talking, but her eyes fell on Tucker and Sandy. "Yes, and the Sandman is right over there, too."

Sam waved her hand. "Eh, I always believed in the Sandman, you could say. I mean, after facing Nocturne (ghost of dreams and all that jazz), I find it hard to pass him up. I just never thought about the others…I mean, wow…"

Tooth cocked her head lightly, suddenly curious. Surely she would've considered it, right? "What religion are you?"

"My family's Jewish," Sam informed. "We never really celebrated Christmas. Well, we tried it a couple years ago, but…Well…That's a story for another day, maybe."

Jazz approached them, pushing the galsses up onto her nose. She didn't really have to do it, but she loved the way it felt. "Unbelievable! Maybe I should've done my college entry on myths rather than ghost envy…"

Tooth looked confused, but Sam just laughed.

If they had known what was happening miles away, their moods would've been a tad darker at the reunion.

* * *

Jack had slowly floated up to the house, which had a strange feeling around it. It didn't take long for him to figure out there was something wrong, and whatever it was was coming from the house. But what he was most curious about was…Fenton.

Fenton.

_Fenton. _

It was like a spark on gas for Jack. Why the wind had never lead him to the town known as Amity Park. Why North (and probably none of them) rally knew anything about Danny Fenton or Phantom, for that matter.

Phantom. Fenton.

_DAMN! _Jack mentally swore, slamming his staff on the ground. Ice spread quickly, and he would've noticed the swirling pattern they had instead of the normal design if he hadn't been in the middle of his greatest discoery.

_How could I have not seen it before? They practically share the same last name, and they have the same first! _he thought, taking a few deep breaths. He should've known there was a better reason than just 'not wanting to' tell them where Phantom was! Fenton didn't want to be lead into a freakin' trap!

_But should I tell the others? _Danny was kinda like a brother to him, Jack had to admit. They both annoyed Bunny. They looked alike. True, Danny was probably a year or so younger than him (appearence wise), but they could pass for twins if they tried!

And if Jack was Danny, he wouldn't want the others to know. Jack didn't have much expirence with keeping such large secrets, and this would be his first. It sounded like fun. It would be mischevious.

And yet…Telling could be incredibly important. If he didn't tell them, it could cost them big time later. Danny would need to trust them. But Pitch was out there and up to something…and the wind had lead him to Amity Park, most likely an alternate reality town-version of Danny's home back…home.

Jack's eyes fell on the large sign once again, making out the big letters through the light dust on it. The small T in it was chipped, and a fourth of the O was missing. Something clearly bad had to have happened–maybe worse than radiation.

Radiation.

Would it mess up his powers? There was nothing about radiation affecting Guardians on record, so he shouldn't have to worry, right?

Jack's thoughts span at record speeds, sending him joy, worry, curious, and the bunch every second. He couldn't think about one thing at once without it leading him to the next thought. It was almost impossible for him to remain still, and soon he began to pace.

"Hello, Jack."

Jack resisted the urge to swear under his breath, and he had been highly tempted to. He knew the silky voice very well, sometimes too well. He could see the blackness from the corner of his eye.

But if he had thought about it, before the darkness took him, he would've realized that there was someone–something else with Pitch at that moment. Something much worse than darkness or fear or cold.

The thing had been Death itself, a wide smirk his hidden face.

* * *

_**Hi. Did ya enjoy my fail of me trying to make up for an epic **_**_cliffy? I bet it's a no, huh? Sorry about that…I had this typed out before I wrote the last chapter (funny story I bet–I know you really don't want to hear). Any grammar errors in this are entierly mine. I got the beta-ed version but my computers being a pain and won't open it so I can share it's lovely cleanness. I will be replacing this one later on. Maybe. I should be. _**

**_Note: Updates will be monthly. Amazing opportunities have opened up for me and I won't be an idiot and not take them. writing will become more of something I do in my spare time when I don't have to use my spare time on those sorta extra things. _**

**_Next note: If you haven't checked out my polls, please do so! I know it probably doesn't seem that important, but both of them help me out with my plot ideas. *smirks* Both of them, but mainly the one with FP. Please. *gets down on knees and begs* PWEASE? _**

**_Third note: Lots of notes… _**

**_Fourth note: Thank you to all of those who have left a review, followed, or favorited! It means so much to me that I get so much positive feedback on stories like this! :D _**

**_Anyway, until I post again, PCE OUT! _**

**_~Jet_**


	10. Insert Title Here

**_Title: "Insert Title Here" _**

**_Beta: Blackkyu (Thanks for beta-ing) _**

* * *

Death was one of those creatures who were supposed to watch; to watch and not interfere, as he'd been told. He had to take simple orders and collect all the souls of those who ended up dead and send them to the one realm shared by all universes: The Ghost Zone.

But two years ago, someone escaped the pull of Death. Death didn't know how to react. He felt cheated. No one was ever able to cheat Death, unless he allowed them to, like the Guardian that was currently slung over Pitch's shoulder. Cheating death was something he was entirely against, unless he felt like allowing it.

For someone to cheat without his consent _was–was–was_ an abomination!

Daniel Fenton had been scheduled to perish two years ago by mass electrocution. He was supposed to die solid and suffering, undergoing more pain than any human could bare.

But despite that, the little runt had survived. He had cheated Death and escaped, almost untouched.

Again, almost.

Death had been spending part of his last two years trying to figure out why the hell Daniel Fenton survived when he should've been burnt to a crisp. He should've been blown to ashes, and yet he had maintained a constant, solid, imperishable form. For the longest time, Death had put it off as science, the one thing Death trusted most.

While the electricity tried to kill him, ectoplasm from the Portal's activation had tried to keep him alive. Cells burned away and had been replaced almost instantly, taking on the contrasting colors (mostly) of the human.

Only one thing was wrong with that: Ectoplasm doesn't like humans. Death had made sure of that thousands of years ago. Human contact with pure ectoplasm (like what had been in the Portal) would either burn the human or cause the ectoplasm to dissipate. Ectoplasm doesn't–didn't–bind itself to humans!

For months, Death had pondered it. He tried to evaluate billions of reasons, all illogical and impossible. But when he had found out about this particular universe, the pieces slowly began to fit together. Like a giant puzzle. He had started at the edges and made his way inside, making sure he had all the facts before he laid the final piece down.

Death didn't recall collecting the eight-year-old Danny Fenton's soul from the Guardian's universe. And Death remembered everything about every soul he collected. He knew nothing–nothing!–about the Fenton-Phantom brat who half-lived.

And it was because of one reason: the stray soul had combined with radiation, most likely, and ectoplasm. It was a rare occurrence, but did happen. Half the ghost stories are true, and it's from the weaker spirits that had escaped Death's shadows and minions. They usually combined with a super low amount of spectral energy, whether it was ectoplasm, radiation, or plain old magic didn't matter.

But a combination of two was very, very rare.

It was clear that one of the puzzle pieces was the ectoplasm and radiation combination. The younger Danny Fenton had become an almost solid ghost without the help of Death. He would've either become a figure like Pariah Dark. But he didn't. Could've found his place as an Observant. But didn't. He had found a way to become dormant long enough until his alternate self was introduced to the same ingredients that had probably killed him.

Thus, the ghost was forced into combining with his alternate self to create one solid form. Danny had cheated Death in a way no other had before. Ectoplasm trying to save the lost soul that had entered Danny, while the electricity tried to kill him. The electricity ended up messing with the copper in the ghost's ectoplasm (for what do you think it contained?) and had somehow transferred it with the iron in Daniel's blood. Ectoplasm flooded the blood circuits in a way none could imagine.

Danny must've been in a lot of pain. Death hoped he had. Oh, he hoped he had suffered!

The science in it stretched deeper than all of that, of course, but Death decided to no longer ponder it. He knew almost everything. And, now, he had the Frost boy with him. And Pitch, the lost and consumed soul. Death had a plan, and it was a big one. It would work as long as he had all the–

Wait.

There was something missing.

There was a puzzle piece missing from the puzzle of Daniel Fenton-Phantom.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Tucker was being very, very stubborn. It was simple, really. He still refused to believe in them, despite Danny, Sam, and Jazz's honest trials. Really? Who would believe in the Tooth Fairy? Santa Clause? Easter Bunny? Oh, and get this! Sandman! HA! Why need magic when the age of electronics was underway?

Danny and Jazz had tried almost everything to convince him to believe. They had Tooth fly him up off the ground, but she had just passed right through him with each trial. Jazz had offered him her glasses and tried to force them on him, but it did no good, considering he was blind as a bat without his prescription.

Eventually, Sam got fed up and just slapped him across the face, yelling some rather…thoughtful words. Tucker had begun to sweat and reassured her he believed, but he still couldn't see them. Sam just got more agitated and practically stole one of Bunnymund's boomerangs. She had waved it in front of his face, trying to convince him they belonged to the Easter Bunny.

"Hahaha! Really? Easter Bunny carries those boomerangs? Please! He can't be that ninja-like–" Bunny huffed "–If anything he'd be a small little bunny hoppin' around during Easter time, rolling little eggs around!"

Bunnymund had to keep himself from saying very unkind words in return. He had long ago deemed that he liked Jazz and had officially said Sam rocked butt. Danny was eh. Tucker was almost as bad as Jack.

Almost.

Sam had tried slapping him across the face and shaking his shoulders. He had told her he believed, but he still couldn't see them.

"We can't make him believe," Tooth had mentioned, frowning sadly.

Jazz had grinned slowly. "Maybe not, but maybe we can make him want to believe!"

And so, that statement had resulted in Sam, Sandy, and Danny carrying Tucker by force over their heads to attempt to load him onto the sleigh. Sam and Jazz had gaped when they had seen it, making Danny smirk. It was high-tech (ish) and, as North would say, totally epic.

Tucker had ended up being held by the end of Sam's hand. He was practically falling through the sleigh, and despite Sam sitting on open air in Tucker's eyes, he claimed that Phantom was probably holding her up invisibly.

The Guardians had glanced at each other at that. Phantom could go invisible, huh? Well, they'd need to ask him about all he could do later.

Eventually, Tucker did end up in believing. Why? Well, it involved one of Danny's least favorite powers. True, he didn't really do much while overshadowing Tucker accept giving him the "believing sight" as he had called it, but he had sorta…um…messed with Tucker's PDA.

Apparently, it had synced up to the sleigh. Sweet, right?

Landing in the North Pole, the nine of them (Danny had sent Cujo away with a stick, and Frostbite had found it slightly amusing to just sit back and watch as they tried to make their friend believe) filed out of the sleigh, being greeted by bunches of yetis and elves. It was no surprise to any of them that Frostbite could readily speak their language and that he had left to speak with them. The elves seemed to follow them around like lost puppies (get it? Because of Cujo?~Oh, never mind!), and there was the occasional sound of a small explosion from inside the Workshop.

North had quickly excused himself to ready everything for Christmas (being only a few short days away, which Team Phantom had forgotten about). That left Tooth, Sandy, Bunnymund, Danny, the duplicate Phantom (had to be brought back after overshadowing Tucker), Tucker, Sam, and Jazz to sit in the floor with the giant globe.

Jazz had gaped the entire time as they walked to the room, Sam had complimented the place, and Tucker had asked what kind of batteries ran the place.

"Silly boy. Magic runs it!" Tooth had informed kindly.

Tucker slowly nodded. "Okay. But its sad how lacking in technicalities…HOLLY FUDGE!" Tucker's eyes suddenly lit up as his gaze fell on something on the other side of the Workshop. "Is that the newest model of the Frenzy Ben's PDA?"

Sam rolled her eyes. Jazz looked oddly curious. Phantom laughed lightly, shaking his head, and the action was imitated by Fenton.

Bunnymund opened his mouth to say something in response, but Tucker was running to the other side of the Workshop just to observe the PDA. Bunny shrugged it off, sighing before turning to face the little group.

An elf walked up and pulled on Jazz's pants. She looked down and smiled at the little fella, patting it on the head. "Oh, the elves are so cute!" She paused. "Wait, I thought the elves made the toys?"

Bunnymund and Tooth laughed, while the other four looked curiously at the elf. He cocked his head, then frowned. He glared at Bunny and Tooth before stomping away.

Sandy smiled lightly. That was the elf who had been sipping from his glass a few years ago. He inwardly laughed at the memory of shaking the elf's head to get everyone else's attention.

"Anger issues much?" Sam stated, grinning playfully at the others.

"You're one to talk," Phantom inputted. Sam glared sharply and held up her foot, pointing to her combat boots.

"I dare you to say that again," she challenged, meeting Phantom's glowing green eyes with her beautiful violet.

Fenton mentioned, "That again."

There was a moment of silence. Phantom was the first to go into a fit of laughter, followed by a few muffled chuckles from Sam. Jazz laughed weakly, shaking her head. It was so like her brother (brothers?) to do that. Fenton smirked.

Tooth, Bunnymund, and Sandy shared a silent conversation. It was like the four–five, counting the run-away Tucker, six including Frostbite–were in on a special secret. Of course, they all had known it before, but sometimes it was like they weren't all that careful in hiding the fact there was a secret. Anyone smart enough could tell there was something odd (aside from Phantom glowing) about all them.

Curiosity of the teenagers never stopped rising.

"Well!" Bunny clasped his paws together, hoping to get everyone's attention. "All silliness aside, there's the matter of what Manny has chosen Phantom for." He pointed to Phantom when he said it.

Phantom slowly rose into the air and crossed his legs. It had become a habit of his sometime in his "life" as a half-ghost. "Well…" Phantom shared a look with Fenton. "If I'm from another dimension, it would make sense if I told you how I got here."

Sam gave Phantom a shocked look. "What? I mean, the holiday and spirit people are cool, but we can't really…I mean…"

Fenton held up a hand. "Phantom's right, Sam."

"Of course you'd agree with him!" Sam said.

"I'm siding with Danny–both of them–on this," Jazz added helpfully.

Both Danny's sent a playful smirk towards Sam. She lowered her head but nodded feebly. If Jazz thought it was alright, it probably was, seeing as Jazz was the smartest of all of them, logic wise.

Phantom took a deep breath. He had a lot of explaining to do, and he had to find a way to make it so he didn't give away his identity.

It took Phantom a little over an hour to get done. There were a few interruptions and questions, which Phantom had answered honestly and to the best of his ability. There was not really any lying, just…truth twisting. Danny was relieved about that. Lying would have been a bit too easy.

"So, in short, big bad guy kidnaps the Danny's, but Phantom uses his powers to escape? Where's North? He needs to hear this," Bunnymund said. His ears twitched lightly and he frowned. "Damn. North's trying to stop the elves from lighting the lower level on fire. He's busy."

He got odd looks from the teens.

"Advanced hearing. Comes in handy."

Phantom grinned. "Dang. You must have really good hearing to hear better than me!"

"Maybe, mate. But I also listen."

Phantom went quiet.

There was a small silence until there was a very girly scream from the lower floors. Team Phantom instantly knew who it was and they leapt into action. Phantom dove downwards, falling intangibly to gain speed. Sam hit the watch frantically until she found herself intangible, sinking through the floors with gravity pulling her downwards. Jazz leaned over the edge and located the scream, then began running the long way to find it.

Fenton sighed before jumping off the edge after Phantom. He caught up easily, and Phantom grabbed his shirt collar as they went down to find Tucker, host of the girly scream.

The Guardians followed shortly. All of them leapt off the edge, Bunny going down with gravity, Sandy diving, and Tooth speeding up with her wings.

But when they got down to the bottom, where all the electronics were, it was a mess. Half of them were on fire, and most of the others were smoking and sparking. The elves had long since abandoned it. And, on top of it all, Tucker was missing.

* * *

**_Well, this is here. Yeah. Long time no see. I feel so guilty. Funny story, really. I thought I had posted this chapter, thus I had written another. Yeah, so I have another chapter typed up. Yay! No clue when I'll be posting that, though. _**

**_HOLLY FUDGE! *resists urge to swear happily* Ahhhh! So many reviews! Just eleven (_ELEVEN****_) reviews away from 200! People, review like the wind for 200! AHHHH! Oh, I love it so much! You want to know what's sad, though? This story is finishing itself so quickly. I hadn't planned for Tucker to be kidnapped for another two chapters, yet here it is!_**

**_Oops. Tucker's been kidnapped? Did I give that away? _**

**_Hahahaha! Funny thing is, you have no way of proving if I am lying or not. *insert emoji* _**

**_Sowwy about the constant cliffies. Speller check just retried to correct cliffies to Clifford. How sad is that? Anyway, yep. Yup. Yah. Yeah. Any other word that means 'yes', really. I have a passion for cliff hangers. Sorry. Really, I am. _**

**_All in all, this story should only be…six, seven more chapters. And I'm writing a lot. Soon, the updates will go back to normal. At the end of February. That's when it will cool down a tad. But in April I have exams…Well, damn. _**

**_Stupid school._**

**_OH YEAH! Someone posed on YT a video of Jack Frost to the Danny Phantom theme song…This is one of those times I am really wishing I had an account on YT to fav it. But I don't. _**

**_*coughs* Right. Please, pwease, check out the poll with the FP. It's important. Well, it will be in the summer, but still. _**

**_Until next time, _**

**_~Jet_**

**_PS: I think I have decided on the pairings. Wish meh luck with Valentines coming up (or Christmas, as far as this story is concerned…) _**


	11. Secrets Revealed and Pairings Now Noted

"So, what I'm getting at, is that this Jack person is Da–Phantom's twin?" Sam said slowly, fully gathering in the information. It had, after all, been half an hour since the supposed 'kidnapping' of Tucker. And, after a little bit of panicking, Sam had gotten everyone under control. Even the elves. And, now, they were undergoing a conversation to find out who took her friend.

"He does look an awful like me," Phantom admitted, frowning. "He had the same hair cut and hair color. The only real difference is his pale skin."

"And blue eyes," Fenton put in. "Although, his blue eyes look like mine…" Only an idiot wouldn't have put the clues together that the two Danny's were one and the same. And, since the Guardians were no idiots, it was only a matter of time until they found out.

"And because we have a major lack of word from Jack," Tooth added, looking around at the other Guardians, "then we can assume he's been…well…taken, as well." Her words were choked.

Sam growled, stomping her foot angrily. "Then we will find them! Frostbite, who was that person you said invaded Danny's school?" Her purple eyes landed on the yeti (the ghost one, mind you) as her cheeks reddened slightly.

Cujo gave a supporting growl.

Frostbite glance at North before saying, "Pitch Black."

"_Bastard_…" Sam declared. Her gaze fell on the ground before she locked eyes with Danny. "Who knew you were so much trouble, Fenton?"

Phantom coughed, regaining everyone's attention. "Listen, we kind of need…something major here. If the person has Frost, then it's safe to assume he has power. And if it's Pitch, who none of us have experience fighting, then we really need some kind of…um…way to defeat him. Didn't you guys beat him before?"

Sandy nodded, but sadly, no one saw. Images flashed above his head of a figure and a boy and a staff and a big BAM!, but again, no one noticed.

That is, until he angrily grabbed an elf and rang the bell. He really needed to get a bell of his own…

"Sandy's right," North said gruffly after Sandy retold everything. "Jack's practically the one who beat Pitch the last time. And… Jamie."

"Jamie?" Sam questioned, blinking a few times.

"Who's Jamie?" both Danny's chimed.

"Jamie was–is Jack's first believer," Bunnymund informed. "He was…ten at the time? Nine, maybe. He'd be in his teens now, last year of high school, I think."

"But we shouldn't get him involved," Tooth quickly added. "He's only a kid."

"I'm a kid, and I'm still involved," Sam muttered, crossing her arms. She never would've admitted that, but if it would get anyone to help, she would. All she really wanted was one: Tucker back. Two: Revenge on the bastard who kidnapped her boyfriend. And three: to get home safely. And in time for that stupid history exam. If it was still going on, that was.

North nodded in agreement. "Yes, you are. Maybe you and Fenton should sit this one out."

Instantly infuriated, both Fenton and Sam cried, "NO!" Danny scowled, his mouth open in shock. "Tucker's our friend. And, frankly, the only way you'd be able to force us out of it was if we were forced here!"

Bunny frowned at Danny. "Then we may do that. Despite your trip through dimensions, you are still young. Therefore, I would ask…" Bunny glanced at Frostbite, frowned, then to Tooth. "Tooth, stay with these two while the rest of us handle it?"

"No way!" Tooth screamed, surprising everyone. "In case you are wondering, I want to get Jack back as much as you do!" Then, she blushed, realizing what she had just yelled. "I-I mean, he's a Guardian and all…"

"You're just as clueless as Danny and Sam!" Frostbite cried, breaking out into laughter. It was painfully obvious, after all, who liked who. Danny and Sam. Clueless lovebirds. Big time. Thus, Tooth's dodgy nature meant she liked Jack.

Fenton and Sam looked at each other before blushing and looking away.

Sandy rung the bell again, hoping to get everyone back on track to the matter at hand. While he respected (and enjoyed watching) young love, there were more pressing matters at hand.

"Right, thank you, Sandy," North said. "But, nonetheless, we cannot allow teens to come with us…"

"Hey!" Phantom cried, placing his hands on his hips as he floated above the ground lightly. "How do you know I'm not a teen?"

"No offense, Phantom, but you're a ghost. For all we know, you could be a million years old," Bunny scoffed, rolling his eyes in a 'can-you-believe-this-guy?' manner.

"I'll have you know I am just as old as Danny!" Phantom screeched, then realized what he had said. "Of course, that doesn't mean anything, but still!"

North sighed, sharing a small glance with Sandy and Tooth before looking back at the three member of Team Phantom. "We will…make you a deal."

Frostbite raised an eyebrow while Cujo cocked his green head in curiosity.

"If you come completely clean with us, we will permit all of you to come," Tooth added, giving a pointed look at Phantom. "Fully come clean."

"You couldn't even stop us if we wanted to come!" Sam yelled. Did they honestly think they would give away Danny's identity for some–

"Deal," Phantom and Fenton stated.

Sam, flabbergasted, stared at her crush(es?). "You can't really be doing it, Danny!"

Both Danny's shrugged. "I just want to get Tucker, kick the bad guy's butt, and get home. If we can do that by telling them this, then no biggie. Besides, it's not like…" Fenton paused for a second before looking at North. "Listen, if we come clean, you do, too. By that, everything about this Pitch guy from beginning to end."

Sam huffed, but realized this wasn't her choice to make.

"Done," North instantly agreed.

"Alright," Fenton said slowly. "Brace yourselves." The Phantom vanished in a small puff of green smoke, which faded into nothing. It was instantly noted how it was nothing like invisibility. Danny, now looking really refreshed for some reason, smiled lightly.

"I can't believe you're doing this," Sam muttered.

Danny ignored her. "Here it goes…" Two familiar icy white rings formed around his waist, flowing in opposite directions nice and slow. When they were done, the Guardians' jaws were on the floor from shock. "The thing is, guys…um…I _am_ Phantom."

Tucker was less than pleased. He wakes up in some kind of cell–no, not even that, it was a cave, no less, without any electricity–and realized with a pang (literally, his head hurt like hell) that he had been kidnapped. Again. Wasn't he the one who was usually kidnapped by the villain when it didn't involve Plasmius?

Anyway, to the point.

Actually, he was in a cage! Odd…it looked like a…bird cage? HE WAS NOT A PET!

"Let me out!" Tucker demanded angrily, grabbing the bars of the cage angrily. The cage rocked, causing him to loose his balance and fall over.

"I've tried that," an oddly calm voice mentioned. "I even tried freezing the stupid bars. It won't work."

Tucker cocked his head towards the figure before gasping. "Danny?"

He laughed. "Close, but no. I'm guessing you're one of his friends. Anyway, I'm Jack. Jack Frost."

"And I'm Tucker Foley," Tucker greeted.

"Shut up," Death said hauntingly, suddenly appearing in between the cages. "Your worthless conversations make your life hold no point. I could just as easily end both of your lives. However, I need you–" Death paused, thinking to himself for a second. "Yes, I need you both alive."

"What's with the get-up?" Tucker joked. "You look like something that came out of a video game!"

Death sneered. "Insolent humans… I am everyone's worst nightmare."

Jack frowned. "No, you look nothing like Pitch. I mean, you do look a bit scarier, but honestly, Pitch is the Nightmare King and you're a man in a dress."

"Cloak!" Death corrected hatefully. "It is a cloak. And I am worse than Pitch. I am…" He inserted a dramatic pause, "Death."

"Then can you end my life because, honestly, I'm getting tired looking at you," Tucker quipped. He chuckled lightly at his own joke, causing Death to fume.

"There is nothing I want more," Death said in a serious tone. Tucker fell into silence, noting how he had upset the person–thing–whatever it was–that could literally end his life in seconds. "However, I need that insolent Phantom here…"

"Wait, so we're just the bait?" Jack demanded, insulted. "That's kind of mean."

Death laughed. But whereas a normal laugh would be warm and filled with amusement, this laugh was cold and frightening. "No, you're here for a different reason. One I can't say, sadly. At least, not yet. Once everyone is gathered here, I will…" Death stopped for a second, grinning slyly. "Well, let's just say things will…heat up."

Even though the pun was an obvious fail, Jack felt a shiver run up his spine. A shiver. Up Jack _Frost's_ spine. That't how scary Death was.

* * *

_**Oh, god. They finally know Danny's secret. *gasps* And it's only chapter eleven! I know this is WAY short, but it was kind of epic, in my opinion. I mean, Jack Frost and Tucker? The two biggest comedians stuck in cells, insulting Death. Funny, right? **_

_**…Fine. You hate me, I get it. **_

_**Sorry if there's any OOC in this chapter. I feel like there's a lot of it for some reason. **_

_**HOLLY CRAP, GUYS! NO–HOLLY FUCK! Yes, I just CUSSED because I have OVER 200 FUCKING reviews! THANK YOU ALL SO SO SO SO SO SO SO MUCH! AHHH! So many follows, and favs, and, and , and…WHAAAAAA! I'm so **_**_honored! _**

**_Now, let's get down to business. My beta is leaving for the airforce (yay you!) and won't be able to beta anymore! That's why there's probably a bajillion asters (and who are you to say 'bajillion' isn't a word, hm?). Anyone willing to beta? I want a serious beta, though. I want to be able to read your beta profile. Yup. You heard me. Just drop me a PM or a Review if you're interested. :)_**

**_Also, anyone willing to make some epicness _****_fan art? Sorry, I love the word 'epicness!' _**

**_Until the epicness of next time, _**

**_~Jet_**


	12. Humor, Mostly

Blink.

Blink blink.

Blink blink blink.

"YOU MEAN YOU WERE PHANTOM THIS ENTIRE TIME AND YET YOU LET US PRACTICALLY BEG YOU FOR YOU TO TELL US WHERE HE WAS?!"

Danny couldn't stop the nervous laugh that escaped at Bunny's yells. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, before clicking his tongue. "See, when people–"

"As you can see, we clearly aren't normal people!"

"When…ghosts and people and you guys ask where Phantom is, the reasons aren't usually that good," Danny informed. "I mean, people usually want to tear me up 'molecule by molecule' because I'm a ghost. Well, half-ghost."

"I can't believe you did this," Sam grumbled. She knew Danny trusted the Guardians, but she couldn't hide her doubt. What if, now that they knew, they would turn on him?

_We have to be careful. We need to keep our guard up. _

"Even ghosts," Frostbite inputted, "have it out for Phantom. He's only well-known in a good manner in a few sections of the Zone. Most ghosts don't care what happens in the human world, and only after he defeated Pariah Dark did he get good credit for most of it."

"As you can see, I have a reason to not be so trusting and happy-go-lucky just 'cause you're Santa Clause," Danny finished, giving a sigh of relief.

Bunny nodded his head. "Alrighty, mate. Good enough reason, I guess."

Images of sand flashed above Sandy's head. Boy, two rings, then a question mark.

"Not now, Sandy," Danny informed. "We need to hurry up with this, right? I mean, Tucker could be dying any second now, right?"

"Right," North added in his rich accent. "Even if you lied to us–"

"–I didn't lie! I was just keeping the full truth hidden–"

"We have a task to focus on. Christmas is just around the corner, and because Christmas is bigger than Easter–"

"HEY!"

"–Then we really should hurry and kick their butts back."

Sam nodded her agreement, as did Tooth and Frostbite. However, Bunny grumbled something about the importance of Easter while Danny looked thoughtful. The Sandman was trying to ask how they were supposed to free everyone with Christmas three days away, but no one seemed to get the message.

Finally, Danny spoke. "Maybe…maybe we should wait."

All eyes snapped towards him.

"Wait? Danny, Tucker could be dying!"

"He could already be dead," Bunny deadpanned. Sam shot him a glare.

"Let me explain," Danny insisted, standing between the two to halt their fighting. "I meant, if we wait until after Christmas, we won't really have a deadline. We don't know why Pitch dragged me here. And without knowing why, we could be walking ourselves right into a trap."

Sam saw the logic in that, as did the others. The Guardians just didn't want to leave it at that. Jack was probably with them, and if Jack was with Tucker… True, he couldn't die, but he could be put close to the point of dying.

"But what if Jack is with Tucker?" Tooth choked out, honest concern in her voice.

Danny let out a heavy sigh. "I don't know, honestly. I mean, there are so many things…But if it is a trap, and we walk into it, how are we going to help them?"

Silence.

"Exactly. All I'm saying is that if we wait until after Christmas, we can hold that safe for Santa–"

"–It's North, m'boy–"

"And then we can work full-out without the weight of a deadline. It's a heavy risk, but…it may be worth it…" There were many flaws in Danny's reasoning, he knew. So many he couldn't count. But there were some plus sides…

"We can wait…" It was decided by all of them.

As they left the little area to start helping with Christmas (for North was behind schedule), Danny could've sworn he saw something. Like the little flash of a glimmer in a shadow. A yellow light.

A familiar yellow light.

"EVERYONE, HIT THE DECK!" Danny cried.

A wave of nightmare sand flooded out of every shadow.

* * *

Pitch was watching boredly from the shadows as the odd kid–Phantom, wasn't it?–began explaining the idea. Pitch, being Pitch, was getting bored rather quickly. There was nothing interesting about what was being said. Although, some of it was true. The kid (what was his name again? Tyler?) and Frost would have to remain alive.

Didn't mean they couldn't suffer nightmares, though.

But, strangely, Death wouldn't let them have nightmares. Oh, no. Death was really getting on Pitch's nerves.

_Who does he think he is, bossing me around?! I am the King of Fear! I am the King of Nightmares! I am the Boogeyman! …That last one didn't sound as epic, but oh well. He shouldn't be bossing me around! _

Death was, frankly, a pain in the ass. No nightmares, no death, and no fear. Death basically told Pitch to leave the hostage (only Tyler was the hostage, Frost was there for some other reason, apparently) alone. But Pitch wasn't allowed to even touch Frost.

_"We need him for more than one reason. You won't understand. This is beyond you, Pitch." _

_Beyond me my ass, _Pitch thought with a sneer. What could be beyond him? Nothing. Nothing at all. HE WAS **_FEAR!_**

Pitch's attention was snapped back to the Guardian and plus when they made their decision to wait and focus on Christmas.

Christmas.

_Christmas. _

**Christmas. **

The one holiday Pitch would love to ruin more than Easter. It was the one everybody (with the exception of only a few, honestly) adored. Presents, families, heavenly meals… The holiday of perfection.

And if it was ruined…so would the Guardians. The would succumb to fear faster than Bunnymund could run–or hop. And that was pretty damn fast.

All Pitch had to do was ruin the one thing. All he had to do was trash the workshop…and that was it. Nothing more, nothing less. The elves–wait, were the yetis making the toys?–wouldn't be able to make toys for the millions of children in less than two–or was it three?–days.

With that thought, Pitch summoned a few of his Nightmares. Just wait…

The Guardians headed in their own directions, but the Phantom kid stayed put. Slowly, the one kid Death had it out for turned, and met Pitch's eyes straight on.

Pitch released his Nightmares that instant. But one thing didn't leave his mind.

Those glowing green eyes Phantom had possessed. They were more meaning to death than Pitch's cold, yellow ones. Death was the thing everyone feared. Death was appalling, taking away loved ones forever, and even ending children's' precious lives.

How could those glowing green eyes be more dreadful, more terrifying, than the Nightmares Pitch released?

The answer was simple; Pitch never technically died.

* * *

"Ready?" Jack whispered to Tucker, a small smirk flying across his face. This plan would be fun. Very fun.

"Hell yeah," Tucker agreed, moving to a crouching position.

Death was currently reading. He was wearing half-moon glasses that looked like something off of Dumbledore from Harry Potter, which was ironic, because the very book Death was reading was _The Goblet of Fire. _

Death chuckled, murmuring something about crazy other dimensioners or something like that.

Jack shifted so he was sitting casually. "Hey, Tucker?"

"Yeah, Jack?"

"What do you call a spirit with no nervous system?"

"Gutless."

Death's eye twitched.

"I have one," Tucker mentioned.

"Yeah?"

"What advice do you give to someone who's fallen in love with a dead man?"

"I dunno. What do you tell them?"

"You tell them Death is a dull and dreary affair and isn't full of any kind of fun."

Death's grip on the book tightened.

Jack had to conceal his laugh. This instant-jokes to aggravate Death were seriously fun to come up with. "I have a better one, Tucker."

"I highly doubt that."

"I'm serious. Why do we pay for things in life?"

"Why?"

"I don't know! We pay life with Death, so shouldn't everything in-between be free?"

Death closed his eyes shut and began to lightly shake in anger.

"Nice one," Tucker admitted. "But I can out-joke you any day!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Wanna have a joke-off?"

Death, surprisingly, paled.

"Hell yeah! But we need a judge…"

Both teens glanced at Death, big puppy-dog eyes on their faces along with the pouts.

Death just stood up and left the room.

Jack let out a breath. "Whew. Who knows what would've happened had he agreed?"

"I'd be kicking your butt, that's what would happen," Tucker said smugly, but gave Jack a childish grin. "Now what's this about you stealing the key out of dress-guy's pocket?"

* * *

Death entered deeper into his hideout, rubbing his temples. Teenagers were so aggravating…

But he needed both of them alive. And if he had been in that room any longer, neither would be alive.

Jack Frost, though already technically _dead, _was there for a deeper reason. But he needed Phantom, too… And that's where Tucker came in.

No doubt, they would come to rescue Tucker. The hot-headed girl wouldn't have it any other way. But in the process, they wouldn't notice it was clearly a trap. Or they would, but they would come into it anyway.

Death expected them to come sometime before New Year's. He wasn't sure if they would wait until before or after Christmas, but he knew it would be within the week. Perks of being able to see future deaths… And the fear that followed.

On the thought of Fear, Death scrunched his face. He had first seen Pitch as a possible equal–someone who could help him avenge the person who helped him be enslaved to the one thing he reeked of.

Pitch wasn't even dead, like Death had expected. In fact, he was just possessed but Nighmares themselves. It was an odd thing. Nightmares were odd beings. They were, in a way, like Phantom.

They weren't dead, or living, they were just there. They were something in-between, which was why you could only have them while asleep, a state of unconsciousness.

Still, Nightmares were fun to play with. So, Death had went along with teaming with Pitch. But the man was only slightly patient, and unlike Death, he wanted to destroy the world.

Pitch was an idiot. If everyone was already afraid and cowering in fear, what would be the fun? Power stops at a limit. If you get everyone to be afraid of you, you will have maximum power, but never be able to increase. You would hunger for something you couldn't have.

Death removed his glasses and placed the Harry Potter book on a random little shelf, also crowded with books. Books he read a billion and one times, being immortal and all, but still there. There was always something to learn.

Death decided to make his way back to the Frost boy and Tucker. He wanted to make sure they weren't strangling each other yet. In face, he'd probably separate them even more, just to stop them from coming up with an escape plan.

However, before he could enter the other room, he scowled. A new yeti was dead, one from the North Pole. That meant Pitch did more than just spy.

Looks like he'd have to take care of this problem himself. The teens would have to wait.

* * *

_**Uhhhhhh…Hi…DONT KILL ME! **_

_**I realize I didn't update last month. I had this chapter typed up for, like, two weeks, and I going to post it, but my wifi got jacked up. And I'm not kidding. Something went wrong with our arrangement or something and the wifi at our house got cancelled, so I could only access this on my phone, at school, and we can't update stories on our phones… **_

_**Still, there's another thing. **_

_**Testing. I have the EoC is math coming up (Lord help me…) and I have Science and Social Studies I still need to test for. That means, I study. Lots of studying.**_

_**However, I also want to finish this ASAP! I won't be online practically ALL summer! I'm going to Yellow Stone this summer (awesome, right?), and I'll be there for two weeks. Returning, I have ONE WEEK of free time before I have a week-long, wifi-less camp. After two weeks home, I have the rest time crowded up with 8AM-6PM practices with my dance team to prep for the coming year. Not to mention me moving into the IB program…so all my free time will be with my projects. **_

_**MUST FINISH STORIES. I WILL TRY TO UPDATE FAST. LIGHTNING FAST. **_

_**Anyway, now that that's out of the way, um… Anyone make any fanart and wanna tell me? *nervous smile* If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. I'll do my best to respond quickly. **_

_**Also, I NEED A BETA! Really. As you can see, this was not beta-ed, and I wanted to get it posted as soon as I could. Anyone who wants to read chapters EARLY, help me EDIT them, and maybe give me IDEAS of a possible SEQUEL, should apply for beta! That's all! **_

_**Until next time, **_

_**~Jetafray**_


	13. Civil Conversation with Death…Sort of?

**_MEET ME AT THE BOTTOM! _**

* * *

North cut off a Nightmare's head, Tooth charged mad at the black sand, Sam kicked and punched so hard they fell to ash at her feet (gotta love Frostbite for those tools–they sure were coming in handy), and Jazz, having reappeared from her apparent overly long meeting with some reindeers, was firing an ecto-gun she had brought with her.

Danny, however, floated with his hands glowing. Nightmares seemed to go right around him, avoid touching him, but a certain pair of yellow eyes were staring right at him.

"You," Danny sneered. It was the Pitch guy–the one who kidnapped him from his home, hurt his friends, and put him and plenty others in a miserable position.

"Me," Pitch agreed.

Danny aimed an ecto-blast and fired, only to have a sudden wall of sand stop the blast before it landed on him.

Sandy came zooming by, golden whip in hand, as he slashed against all the monsters at incredible speeds. Nightmares became dream dust and fluttered to the ground peacefully.

"PITCH! YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Sam. Sam was storming up to the villain, and for a split second, Pitch registered a shocked emotion. Who was the weak human girl who DARED to insult him like that?

A Nightmare launched himself at Sam, but Sam just punched him right on the nose. Her purple eyes never left Pitch's face as she continued to storm up to the villain.

"You. Sick. Twisted. Bastard."

"Sam," Danny warned.

"Not now, Danny. I'm talking to the guy who thought it wise to rip us from our lives and trap us in an alternate reality!" Flinch from Danny. "Now, Pitch person, TELL US WHERE TUCKER IS AND TELL US HOW TOO GET HOME!"

If Pitch had been human, he would've been afraid. Hell, if he had been anything less than what he was now, he would've been shaking in his figurative boots. But he was the Nightmare King–she didn't scare him.

"No."

Sam growled. "Big. Mistake."

Jazz's head snapped in their direction and she didn't hesitate in throwing her only ecto-gun to Sam. Sam was about to aim it, but a black ray–not black sand, but a black void thing–knocked the gun far out of her hand.

The gun dissolved into thin air.

"I knew it was stupid," Death mentioned, dragging himself out of the shadows. "Pitch, recall the Nightmares."

"No."

"Pitch."

"I said, no."

What was he, a child?! "If you don't, I will."

"Like you can–"

"Do you wish to die?" Death breathed, glaring at the person he once thought could be an ally.

"…No."

"Call them back."

Reluctantly, the Nightmares blended into the shadows. One elf watched as a shadow released him and grinned, thinking he was totally badass because he scared the shadow away.

"This place is in shambles," Death muttered, looking around the Workshop with distaste. He needed it to thrive! If anything was ever going to work for him, things had to go perfectly from then on. He was now walking on a thin line, and a single snap could ruin all his plans.

He couldn't allow that.

"You are an idiot, Pitch," Death stated simply.

Pitch seethed. He wasn't going to do this anymore. Death couldn't rule over him with his power; no one could. All he had to do was wait for this destroyed Christmas to pass, and everything he wanted would return. Power, fear, **_power._** He could rule the world, and exact his revenge on his dear old friend MiM. "How am I an idiot, Death? I've taken down this Workshop; I've got power. All you have are your small little threats and–"

Pitch found himself thrown against a random wall of the Workshop, held there by a black mist. Not shadow, not sand, but mist. Pitch called his Nightmares to help him, but they stayed away, fearing the mist themselves.

"Little threats, Pitch?" Death challenged. "You underestimate my power. While I cannot kill you_ yet_, I will be able to soon. The stupid Nightmares chose the wrong person to possess. Your human heart makes you weak. You are no longer an ally of mine, Pitch. Nor are you a foe. For now. Stay out of this matter. If you do, then maybe in a couple years you can return. For now…" Death's red eyes became darker until there was nothing but blackness filling them. "**Go.**"

The black mist whisked away into the Northern air, causing Pitch to collapse onto the ground. His Nightmares waisted no time in surrounding him and dragging him back to his layer.

Death looked in the direction he knew a few living souls (and one half-living) had been watching. His black eyes were back to red, but for the first time, Death saw him.

"Nice to finally meet you, Danny Phantom," he addressed the white-haired teenager.

Sam took a step forward to punch Death, but a wall of black mist suddenly surrounded all of them but Danny, leaving him out there to face Death.

Danny, as you can expect, was oddly uncomfortable.

"…Hi?" After Death's display of power, Danny knew he didn't stand a chance. He was probably as powerful as Pariah had been, if not more so. In fact…his power may have ben equal to…_him._

Death didn't smile. His face was emotionless as he felt Danny's aura in his ghost form twist and turn with power. "You've caused me a lot of trouble, Phantom."

"…Sorry?" Danny felt like everything he was saying was a question. "Um…are you going to, you know, kill my friends or something? If so…" Danny ignited his hand in his ecto-energy and aimed it right at Death.

Death grinned, showing his pointed teeth. "Me? Kill? As much as I love to, I can't. At least, not yet."

A spark of hope lit up in Danny. "So Tucker and that Jack guy are still alive, right?"

"Well, Tucker is." A green light came zooming at Death's head, but a ball of black mist literally captured it and absorbed it. "Jack, meanwhile, has been dead for over three hundred years."

"Oh. I knew that." Was he seriously having a normal conversation with the person who had kidnapped Tucker? Really? Was he going insane?

"Yes, well, I suggest you clean up around here," Death advised, waving his arms around the area. "It's hardly Christmas-y anymore. I'm sure if you work really hard, you guys could still make an…obtainable Christmas."

Danny glared suspiciously at him. "I thought you wanted it ruined."

"Pitch did. Pitch is an idiot. In fact, I would've just been happy going to your universe to do…this. However, Pitch seemed to find one of the few dimension rips and was able to drag you here. It was very lucky for me, actually." A sinister, blood-thirsty grin spread across his face as he thought of something. "I can finally fix the issues I've had in the past of this universe, too, honestly."

"…Release Tucker and Jack."

"Hm, I actually need Jack. And you, for that matter, so I'll keep Tucker for the purpose I know you'll eventually come and save that daft child." Death watched as Danny scowled.

It was a trap. Of course, they had expected that, but they hadn't known the reason as to why Death had set it up. Also, he needed Jack for a reason. …But what was it?

"Why do you need Jack and I?"

"Curiosity killed the cat, Phantom."

"I'm already dead."

"Only half," Death corrected with his own scowl. "The only person in all of the universes to ever be _half_-dead. You escaped my pull that day, strangely enough."

"It's just because I'm that awesome," Danny replied, smirking smugly. So Death was upset he had escaped his pull. Death wanted him, who was already half-dead, dead. Ha, it was kinda funny, if you thought about it…

Death chuckled. He wasn't completely lifeless, you know. He did have a sense of humor…as long as he wasn't the subject of it. Speaking of humor, he needed to go back and relocate all his stuff from–

Done. His mist would take care of the relocation.

"Well, I must be going now, Phantom," Death replied, grinning dangerously. "Though we will be seeing each other soon." Like Pitch could do, Death seemed to fade into blackness, but the odd black mist hovered over the location for a moment.

The black wall of mist dissipated into nothing. Sam ended up falling flat on her face, having been hitting it endlessly (though soundlessly, somehow it had stopped the sound). Sandy was actually holding a ball of the black mist in his hand before it suddenly vanished, too. North and Bunnymund stared at Danny before Bunnymund demanded to know what happened. Jazz had just hugged her brother, for she had thought the worst and that Death had taken, him, too.

Danny was just thinking. He was in such a daze he didn't even hear Sam talking to him. Questions went in one ear and out the other.

_Why me? Why am I always the unlucky one? _

Danny knew the answer, though. He just didn't want to admit it.

Finally, slowly, he began to answer their questions. Danny told them that Death said both Tucker and Jack were alive, and that he couldn't kill. Pitch was (assumedly) out of the picture, or at least for the moment.

They needed to get Christmas ready. Just like what had happened with Tooth those eight years ago, all the Guardians (excluding the Winter Spirit) were working on things. Frostbite had always been good at crafting, and he had painted all his things red the first time, which caused North to snicker and say to some other yeti, "See? He does it right the first time," before he moved on to work on checking his list for a fourth time.

* * *

**_I really should just stop apologizing for updating. I should also stop making stupid promises. That's right; no more promises from me. Zip, zero, nada, zilch. All promises after this hereby mean nothing. Do you hear? NOTHING. _**

**_But…I am sorry it took two months to update… But… I got a really good idea on where to take the story, but it's going to have a bit of rising action again for a while. Warning: major plot twist comin' up. _**

**_Oh! And in case you haven't noticed, I am using the Guardians' pasts from the book series. Thought it would be more interesting that way. :) _**

**_I got a beta, but this chapter was so sudden and I decided to update ASAP to make up for everything…so yeah… _**

**_Also,_****have you seen my**** reviews?****_ YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! HAHAHA! I wuv you all to death! But I'm sure Death doesn't feel that way… _**

**_Death: I'm only working with you because it fits my cause. _**

**_Me: Shut up. _**

**_Death: I wish I could kill you. _**

**_Me: *grins smugly* Goodbye, readers. I will (HOPEFULLY, note: NO PROMISES) update within a week. :D After all, testings all through with and school's almost out…but then I have camps and vacation… But I will try! So, review for encouragement? Or you can yell at me, that's cool, too, but I'd prefer if you did that in PM… XD _**

**_~Jet_**


	14. Back On Track In the Ways of Non-Life

"I can't believe you got us caught," Tucker accused.

"Me? You're the one who ran away screaming like a little girl!" Jack yelled back.

"I do not scream like a girl–Yowch!" Jack had promptly sent a nip of frost (the painful kind) at Tucker's arm.

"Frost is right, you do scream like a girl," Death absently noted.

"Even Death agrees with me, and he's our captor." Jack had obviously won that fight, so Tucker just crossed his arms and mentally wished for his PDA.

"Just don't try to escape again," Death deadpanned. "It's useless. Jack, you're already dead–"

"Don't remind me…"

"–So I can easily track you down. Tucker is too loud to not find, even if I wasn't looking for him." More sulking from the kid who liked electronics. "It's hopeless. I won't put you in cages again. Pitch did that, anyway, and I will no longer be working with him."

Jack looked up in surprise at Death. "Really? Why?"

"He wouldn't listen to my commands. He's an idiot with power, and they are the worst kind. I should've taken his soul all those years ago while he was in mourning."

"Mourning?"

"His daughter was far away while he had to guard the cages of Nightmares."

"I thought Death was the Nightmare King?"

Death snorted, but smiled all the same. "He is. However, the Nightmares have corrupted his soul. He had been a normal human, with a daughter, and a family. Only, that had been before Tsar had even come into existence."

Jack was overwhelmed by all the curiosity. "Who's Tsar?"

"You know him as Man in the Moon. His real name is Tsar Lunar."

"That's cool!" Jack suddenly paused as he realized the same thing Danny had noticed. "Wait, are you having a civilized conversation with me?"

"Depends. I'm holding you and your friend hostage. I'm planning on taking over the worlds, but I won't tell you or anyone how until it's too late to stop me. Oh! And I've confiscated your staff. Is that civilized?"

Jack blinked. "You haven't confiscated my–" His staff vanished in black smoke. "–…staff…"

Tucker sniggered. "See? This is why I'm sometimes glad I am fully, one-hundred percent human."

"Humans are easier to kill," Death mentioned, shooting down Tucker once more.

Jack bursted out laughing. "I never thought of that! All humans do eventually grow old and…die…" Thoughts of Jamie plagued his mind, old, withered, and dying. Jack shivered and pushed the thoughts away.

Death chuckled darkly. "Yes, they do. It's a glorious thing, isn't it? Death?"

"No."

Death frowned. "You don't understand how important death is. I wouldn't expect it from hopeless teenagers."

"I'm over three hundred, I'm hardly a teenager."

"You have the mindset of one, Frost," Death retorted. He could shoot down everyone…Why hadn't he been so open earlier?

Suddenly, Tucker asked, "Do you have MPD or something?"

Once again, Death chuckled. "No. I just…like humor when I am not the center of it."

"Oh," Tucker murmured.

Silence fell. It was a heavy silence. All of them (except Death, obviously) had liked it more when they had been talking. Talking like civilized people, maybe even friends. It had been…strange, yet enjoyable…

"So…Did you know Tsar before he was MiM?" Jack asked, finally breaking the silence.

Death shook his head. "No, I did not. However, I have collected his parent's souls. Many years ago, then they died. Nice people, they were."

Jack wished he hadn't asked. "Oh."

"Yeah."

* * *

Jamie Bennet was your typical nineteen-year-old. He attended collage, passed his classes, and had lots of friends. He had a little sister who was in fifth grade, and he loved her like a doll, but sometimes…Well, sibling rivalry did exist between all siblings, right?

Jamie was sitting on one of the benches outside of his _Mythology _class building. It wouldn't start for another couple hours, but he like to review the notes. Ever since the deal with the Guardians all those year ago, Jamie had taken up an even greater interest in the subject, believing in everything he came across. In fact, that was the only thing that made him incredibly different from other young adults. While mature, Jamie still had a child's heart.

A girl Jamie's age strolled over to him, her brown locks bouncing. She was wearing a beanie, but that was common in Maine, mainly because it was the beginning of winter and three inches of snow was already all over the collage campus. "Hiya, Jamie," she greeted before taking her seat next to him.

"Hi, Emma," he responded with a smile. Emma had been his best friend since grade K. She, too, believed in the Guardians and everything they did. Though, she was sometimes a bit skeptical when it came to creatures like wendigo and ghosts. "What are you doing out so early?"

Emma attended the same campus as him, but she didn't take the same classes. She was a psychology major, or hoping to be. Emma just had that way with kids. Although, her class didn't start for another two hours. She was usually either studying or talking with Cupcake. "Oh, Cupcake had to go visit her aunt before she went to her Mom's for Christmas," she answered. "I was bored, so I decided to come meet up with you. That okay?"

"Of course. After all, this is the last day of classes…" True to that! It was Jamie's last class of the semester, and he didn't have to go back to school until early February. Maybe later, if Jack came for a visit like he usually did during the cold season along with his bundles of snow storms.

"Did you do well on your exams?" Emma questioned.

Jamie nodded, grinning as he remembered something. "Oh, yes, yes I did. I got the best score in the class, thanks to all the help from the various Guardians." Well, mostly North and Tooth. Jack wasn't all that great at school work. However, North had taken it upon himself to try to make Jamie the most educated person on the planet about the wonders of the magical world.

Emma sighed drastically. "Lucky bug. I got an A, but that stupid kid Nelson is always knocking away my perfect scores with his more perfect ones."

Jamie nodded slowly. "Ah, Nelson Hartie. He's a real jerk."

"That he is," Emma agreed, then moved a strand of her own hair out of her face. "So, any visits from Jack lately?"

Jamie frowned. He had noticed it, but had kept brushing it off. Jack hadn't visited in two months. While a month or a few weeks was completely normal, Jack usually would stop by for a two-second visit before he left on the wind again. Was something going on?

"Actually, I haven't heard from him since right after Halloween." Jamie never really hid anything from Emma, and she never really hid anything from him. It was just how things worked between them.

Emma frowned. "Do you think something's up?"

For the first time in a long while, Jamie lied. He didn't want Emma to worry. "Nah, it's probably nothing. I bet it's just that Jack is helping North with Christmas this year." Yeah. That's all it was. Christmas preparations…

Emma nodded her agreement. "Probably." She didn't think Jamie would lie to her about something like this. "So, um, Jamie… Are you going to your parents' for Christmas? My mom was wondering if you wanted to have Christmas Eve dinner at my house, if you want."

Jamie grinned for what seemed like the millionth time since Emma arrived. "Yeah, I'd like that. I'll check with my parents."

"Sophie can come, too," Emma offered. "I know she loves Rugga." Rugga was Emma's white rabbit she had gotten for her seventeenth birthday.

Jamie smirked. "Oh, you won't believe what I got Soph for Christmas!"

"A bunny."

Jamie pouted. "How'd you guess?"

"It's kinda obvious, Jamie." Jamie stuck out his tongue childishly as his response, only earning a laugh from his best friend. "Okay, well, you better get to class…"

Jamie nodded, closing his binder as he stood up. Emma did, too. Just as they did, a light snow began to fall. Snowflakes took their favorite spot on Jamie's nose, as well as Emma's, causing them both to grin.

"Jack Frost's nippin' at your nose…" They both sang lightly, and then headed their separate ways to class.

Too bad Jamie didn't realize the odd tinting in the snow. The snow that was falling when there were very few clouds over the sky. After all, it was hardly snow. The thing falling from the sky was ash.

* * *

The ashes came from a town miles and miles away. The town had been blocked off for the longest time. Amity Park's radioactive explosion had made it unlivable, despite all the government's efforts to bring it back.

However, there was a spark around a certain, demolished Fenton Works. The little green spark sent the entire thing, bricks and all, up to green flames.

* * *

_**Jack and Tucker have been caught again. We checked in with Jamie and Emma. And, on top of that, something funky is going on in Amity. Or, well, EX-Amity, as it will now be called. **_

_**I'm planning on making Jamie a bit of a more important person in this story. Maybe. If I can use him, I will. I plan on fixing somethings first and editing this and that. Just… from now on, keep your eyes peeled for foreshadowing, okay? Okay. XD **_

_**Anyway, go ahead and leave a review, alrighty? No need to be shy! Let's see if we CAN make it to three hundred soon~ **_

_**~Jet**_


	15. Christmas Travel–Pt1

Pitch Black wasn't one for quitting. Now that his lair was all to himself (again), he could start a real plot for taking down the Guardians (again), and…do something…else…What was it? Oh, right. Strike terrorizing fear into the hearts of everyone. Pitch was looking forward to that.

Pitch simply stared at the giant globe in his lair. Lights blinked all over the place, showing believers, and it made him sick. He just wanted to crush all their hope and watch it disintegrate in his hands.

Originally, Pitch's first plan had been to eliminate Sandman. That, obviously, hadn't gone so well with the unexpected arrival of the Guardian's newest ally; Jack Frost. Now, though, Pitch knew about Jack Frost. And the Phantom kid. And his friends. And the weird snow-yeti thing. And the glowing green dog.

Pitch just knew something would happen to suddenly stop him. Something always did. Back when North had been human, that little brat girl had stopped him with a mere locket. Now, though, he knew there had to be something. What could he do to increase his odds?

Pitch chuckled darkly as the thought entered his head. "Oh, this will work nicely." He paused, realizing he jinxed it. "I hope."

* * *

Christmas was surprisingly easy to deal with. Really, it was. There were no Pitch attacks –which had been expected, now that the Guardians knew he had some of his power back–,Death had been relatively silent, and Danny's friends were surprisingly good at making toys.

Sam took care of all the designing (for the more older kids and gothic teens, obviously), Frostbite was amazing at normal crafting in general (what else to expect from a yeti?), Danny–err, Phantom–no wait, Danny–UGH! what's-his-face made quick work at eliminating all the mistakes on the toys with simple ecto-forming, or destroying them when needed.

Cujo was the biggest help, though. He had kept the elves entertained. Of course, someone _had _to monitor them at all times, and that was why Bunnymund and Jazz were chillaxin' in that area.

Anyway, as I was saying, North was very pleased. It didn't even look like anything had been damaged, destroyed, or tampered with. That night, North would be delivering all the gifts (how? That's his secret), and then they'd get right onto working on rescuing Jack and that other kid. Tyson, right?

Yes. North was quite sure it was Tyson.

Danny, not that far from North, was currently in Phantom form. His hand was charged with ecto-energy, and the occasional toy was simply thrown his way, and Danny would shot and destroy. It was great target practice for him, and it helped clear the factory of the toys mistakes were made on.

Tooth and Sandy had long since left; they didn't just work one day a year. And besides, on Christmas, Sandy had to make sure everyone was asleep before North got there to deliver the gifts and eat the cookies.

Moving on…

Danny and Sam had been talking previously, and they came to a mutual decision. Along with that, Danny would be the one to ask North, because him and North got along oddly well. North was like a less-eccentric Jack, so Danny had a small idea of how he could convince North.

Danny ducked under a flying stuffed mouse before he flew over to North. "Hey, North?" he asked, giving him a small grin.

North rose an eyebrow and turned to Danny. "Yes?" A few of the elves Cujo wasn't playing with brought over a tray of cookies. One elf had a cookie half-in his mouth, so the other elf told him to spit it back on the tray.

Huh. Serious déjà vu.

North smiled widely as the cookie tray was given to him. He took one–thankfully, not the one the elf had been eating–and plopped it in his mouth. "Would you like one?" he asked Danny with his accent greatly showing, but the white-haired teen shook his head.

"No, but I was wondering if I could ask you something," Danny said slowly. Him and Sam were greatly relying on the 'YES' answer from North. If not, well, they'd get bored. Again. For, like, the zillionth time they'd been doing the same thing for three days in a row.

North looked at the boy curiously. "Yes?" His tone was a bit more cautious than it had been a while ago.

Danny bit his lip and grinned. "Sam and I were wondering if we could go with you while you deliver all the gifts," he said, bobbing his head as he did so. "I mean, who knows? We may find a clue that can lead us to Tucker and Jack."

Ah. So his name wasn't Tyson, after all. North could've sworn… Oh well.

Wait, what?

North blinked at them. "Come with?" That was new. Normally, not even Jack would come on the trips. Then again, that may have been because North didn't want Jack to get his 'fun'ny ideas and pull a stunt in mid-flight. North did trust Danny, but the goth was scary. Very. Scary. Even more so than Pitch had been when he was mad, and that was saying something.

Danny nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah. We could help, too. I could do invisible trips and intangible trips and Sam could…uh…she could help with unloading? I don't know. She can do something." Danny rubbed the back of his neck a bit nervously and gave a chuckle. Still, his eyes were wide open in the best puppy-eyes he could manage. And, goddamn, Danny was good at puppy-eyes.

North would've said no. He should've said no. But North was a sucker for those eyes. That's why he had the elves around; they were adorable, and they made good cookies. Danny's neon eyes just were very pleading.

North sighed in defeat. "Alright. But no detour trips, otherwise you probably won't make it back here," North gestured around his workshop.

Danny threw his hands in the air and cheered. "Yes!"

North rolled his eyes. "Kids I understand, adults I occasionally get, but teens will always be a mystery…"

Seven hours later, just as the sun was setting over the horizon, Danny was the last one getting into the sleigh. Sam sat next to the fairly normal-sized bag of presents in the back row while North already had ahold of the reigns. Danny took his seat in front of Sam and they shared a wide grin.

"Finally, my hands are free," Sam joked, doing the jazz hands in a funny way (no pun intended).

Danny laughed. He was in his human form for one reason only at the moment. "Your hands are tired? My powers are exhausted from the ecto-beams and floating I've been doing the past few days." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "In all honesty, I don't think I'd be able to sense a ghost if they were right in front of me!"

North didn't really understand what they were talking about, but he looked back anyway to give them a head's up. "We're taking off now."

They both grinned slyly.

What was it North always said?

Oh, right.

Everyone loved the sleigh.

North, with a wide grin, slapped the reigns. The reindeer gave a cry as they trampled through the tunnel and they exploded out of the ice cavern. The sun vanished at the horizon as it sank for the disappearance of a classic two-hour day in the North Pole. North was quick in pulling out a snow-globe and tossing it into the air.

"First stop, Alaska!"

* * *

Alaska was a very quick stop. Very few people wanted to be there during winter, which was totally understandable. The state had a very small number, and nothing major happened there for the small trio.

In fact, they breezed through the entire country of Canada and the west and south of the USA without a single issue.

In the north of the USA, there was one place that North claimed was "a special stop".

Jamie Bennet was at his house when he saw the stars being coated by a black wisp. Sandy's sand had left him untouched as the only person in the Northern hemisphere. Jamie's little sister Sophie was also wide awake, actually, so make that the only two people awake.

Sophie was a young teenager, now. Literally. She had turned thirteen that year and was still believing just as strong as Jamie was. A small snow-white rabbit was in her arms as she stood outside the house with her big brother, waiting for North to drop on in.

The sleigh dropped out of the sky and skidded to a halt in front of the pair. North gave both of them a very, very wide smile as he walked out of the sleigh and over to them. Danny and Sam followed, looking curiously at a teenager who was older than them and Sophie.

Jamie seemed to have a relieved smile play across his face. "Hello, Santa," he greeted playfully, giving Russian a big hug. North returned it fully.

"Hullo, Jamie! And it's North to you," he insisted.

"Santa, what about me?" Sophie pouted playfully, petting the bunny on the head. It had been Jamie's gift, and I'll give you three guesses as to what she named it.

No, not Snowball.

Or Fluffy.

Actually, he was named–wait, you guessed right? Dang.

North looked down at the bunny. "Aw, who's that little guy, Soph?"

Sophie chuckled. "This is, uh, Bunny…" She blushed nervously. Yes, friends, she named her rabbit Bunny. Of course, it wasn't named after the animal he was, oh no. He was named after her favorite Guardian.

North rolled his eyes at the blonde girl. "Why am I not surprised?"

Danny had a smile play across his lips. "North, who're they?" he asked, though he did feel a bit guilty for intruding on what looked to be a sweet moment.

North's eyes grew wide as he remembered he had company. "Oh, oops! Danny, Sam, this is Jamie–" he pointed to the brown-haired teen, who gave a small wave in return, "–and little Sophie."

Sophie's cheeks inflated. "I'm not a little girl anymore, Santa," she insisted.

Strangely, at the same time, North and Jamie said, "Yes, you are." Even Bunny agreed and gave his own chirp to support their words.

Sophie pouted. "Man, I hate when you all do that…"

Danny laughed lightly, sharing a look with Sam. Then, his eyes widened himself as he took notice that they hadn't introduced themselves to Jamie. Danny took a step forward and offered Jamie his red-gloved hand. "I'm Danny, and this is my girlfriend, Sam."

Sam smiled kindly. "Nice to meet cha, Jamie," she greeted.

"Likewise. Um, if you don't mind me asking, why are you traveling with North?" Jamie felt odd at asking that question, but he couldn't help it. He was curious naturally, that was why he was a firm believer when he had been a kid despite what others had said. Why two people–teens, nonetheless!–were with a supposed 'mythical being' was a complete mystery to him.

Danny frowned a bit, but was honest when he gave his answer. "Because we were bored at the Workshop."

Jamie cocked his head. "Do you work there?"

"No."

"Then why were you there?"

"Because we're waiting until after tonight so we can–" Danny was cut off by North placing a large hand on his mouth.

"That's very interesting, Danny!" North gasped, giving him a wide and yet false smile. "Why don't we move onto the next house, yeah?"

Jamie instantly felt something wrong. "Sophie, go inside."

Sophie frowned. "What? No, I wanna stay!"

"Sophie. Don't you think Bunny is getting cold?" Jamie stressed in a neater tone, looking down at his sister. Sophie huffed, but turned high-tail and trekked back into the house to avoid the conversation that the 'adults' were going to have.

Jamie turned to North and asked the first thing that popped into his mind. "Does it have to do with why Jack is not giving us our annual major Christmas storm?" Jack always brought one hell of a storm before Christmas. All the kids enjoyed it, and Jamie would be lying if he said he didn't occasionally drop in into a snowball fight himself.

North was torn. He didn't want to bring Jamie into the fight. Again. He had been in the last one, why was he needed in this one? Really, they shouldn't put little kids at risk…

But Jamie was an adult now. He wasn't even a teenager, so North couldn't pull that card.

North sighed in defeat. "Yes."

Jamie frowned in worry. "Is he okay? Where is he?" Jack was one of his best friends, like hell he'd let this go!

"Kidnapped," Danny supplied so North wouldn't have to. "By the same person who took our friend. Pitch?"

North winced. He hadn't wanted to give Jamie that much information. At all. Oh, crap.

Jamie's worried look was replaced at lightening speeds by shocked. "He's back? Again? How can I help?"

This time, both North and Danny agreed mentally that Jamie shouldn't help. "It's no big deal, we have it covered," Danny lied, something he had gotten very good at over the years.

Jamie frowned. "No, I want to help. Jack's one of my best friends." He turned to North. "North, please, what can I do to help?"

Shit. Jamie was even better at the puppy eyes than Danny was.

"Uh…No?"

Cuteness level intensified.

"…"

Sam elbowed Danny in the gut, and then took charge. "Listen, Jamie, we have this handled. Pitch messed with the wrong people." She glared at the boy and scowled, pointing to Danny. "He had no idea what he's dealing with. At all."

Danny thought for a second. "Then again, Death kinda ditched Pitch. What if he has them instead?"

Sam sent Danny a look that read, 'You're not helping!'

Jamie's eyes went wide. "Death? They're dead?"

All at once, the three answered, "NO!"

"They're kidnapped," Danny began.

"By the guy who," North went.

"Controls death," Sam finished.

Jamie nodded in consideration. "I've made my choice," he said.

They all smiled, thinking Jamie wouldn't want to help.

Pfft, they couldn't be more wrong.

Jamie didn't give them an answer. Instead, he walked around the three and climbed into the sleigh. The three, realizing what Jamie was doing, rushed to try to stop him, but Jamie had already plopped his butt down in the middle row. "I'm helping, and I'd like you to try to stop me," he stated plainly.

"Danny?" North asked, looking over to the boy.

Danny's eyes flashed green. "On it."

Two seconds later, the sleigh was taking off into the air. Jamie, meanwhile, sat in a pile of snow with a large frown on his face. He knew one thing, though. That simple act of 'going ghost' and phasing him off the sleigh wouldn't stop him from helping.

"Computer, here I come," Jamie grumbled, heading back inside to flood his brain with research information.

* * *

_**Rather longer chapter, right? Anyway, I haven't vanished. I just went on a two-week vacation. I'm going to be updating more often…hopefully…No promises. **_

_**Anyway, now Jamie has an idea on what happened to Jack, and he's met Danny and Sam. I also left a small, SMALL hint of foreshadowing in there. *wink, wink***_

_**Nothin' else to say, really. Oh, but I got my scores back from my major tests. Who can guess what I got on my science exam? A FREAKIN 96! Do you know how happy I am? VERY! :D **_

_**Oh, and we're only 19 reviews from 300. Pwetty pwease? *puppy eyes***_

_**See ya! **_

_**~Jet**_


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